Author’s Note: Sorry for the very long, long wait. As you can see, this entry is particularly long. There is a lot of detail I wanted to do in this final chapter, a lot of plot points I wanted to hit. I hope none of you were disappointed with what was presented to you and that you enjoyed the final chapter of this series. Thank you to all the readers as always~

The Calm After

By: FlameWolf

Sunlight poured through the windows as a blanket covered figured stretched languidly on the modest bed. Lowering the light pink blankets her father had insisted on getting her, Haruhi opened her sleep dazed eyes as realization crept into her dozy haze. Today was the day, just remembering what was going to happen making a shudder roll through her young frame. Kyoya would be here any moment to pick her up for school, essentially showing her father there was more to talk about after school today. A conversation she really wasn’t looking forward to. While he meant well, her father could be absurdly protective. What she was most afraid of was the very real possibility he would simply forbid her from seeing the young heir ever again.

Just thinking about it made tears sting her eyes as she slipped on the boy’s uniform she usually wore to school. As she pulled on her shirt, she could hear her father rustling around in the room next to hers; still sleeping due to working late. It was unlikely he would wake up on time for breakfast on any other day. Unfortunately, today wasn’t going to be quite as normal. Kyoya would be here at any minute, the knock on the door sure to wake her dad. Pulling on her jacket as she walked into the main room the young woman did her best to gather her courage. As soon as she took a couple steps into the sitting room, the light rapping of knuckles could be heard on the wood of the door.

Sure enough, before she could so much as move toward the door, her father was slamming the door to his room open with a panicked expression. Stubble clung to his almost feminine features and his reddish brown hair was a massive rat’s nest around his head. Amber eyes landed on her first, as if to assure himself that whatever bandit was at the door hadn’t spirited her away or something. “Who on Earth could that be this early in the morning,” the robe wearing man bit out, clutching the fluffy, pink, fringed material to himself.

“Its Kyoya Ootori. Do you want me to get breakfast started while you answer it?” she found herself asking, almost as if what was happening was a common occurrence. Then she was skirting into the kitchen, avoiding looking at her father so she wouldn’t see the expression on his face.

Ryoji ‘Ranka’ Fujioka thought he knew his daughter down to her breathing patterns. He had known her since birth, had helped to raise her until her mother had passed. Then he had taken on the task himself, watching as she grew up. He had made sure she stayed safe while remaining independent. She had always had a habit of doing things her way anyway, she would have rebelled under a firmer hand. He liked to think she had grown into a lovely woman with a good head on her shoulders, someone he could trust to do the right thing for herself. Now he found himself faced with a scenario any father would dread. A situation he had hoped wouldn’t happen for a long while yet.

Setting his palm on the cool doorknob, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath; thanking every God up there that at least it wasn’t the Suoh boy on the other side of the door. There was nothing wrong with the boy, he seem like a lovely person but Ranka had been around long enough to know a player when he saw one. If she had ended up with Tamaki, there was no doubt in his mind he would have received phone calls about a slew of mistresses. At least the Ootori boy seemed to have as good a head on his shoulders as Haruhi, not that Ryoji would ever admit as such out loud. It wouldn’t do to let the young whelp know he actually liked the boy.

As soon as he opened the door, there stood the well dressed heir; his blue eyes staring up at him. Fighting his innate urge to swoon, Ryoji forced ‘Ranka’ away to be the father he needed to be at the moment. He needed to vet this young man, to see if his intentions were pure. Though, with Kyoya, he had no doubt the young teen meant what he said. While young, the Ootori heir had always shone a surprising level of intellect as well as coolheadedness. He simply didn’t seem the type to make a move unless it was purposeful. In fact, said teen was currently getting an eyeful of the boxers peeking out of a certain robe. “Good morning Mr. Fujioka,” the schoolboy greeted, not even so much as raising a brow; waiting to be invited in.

“Good morning Mr. Ootori. Do come in, I’m afraid you caught me a bit under dressed this morning,” the patriarch offered, gesturing his very probable future son-in-law into the house.

The well dressed boy simply bowed before making his way in and taking a seat at the table. “Good morning Ms. Fujioka,” Kyoya intoned respectfully, his lens covered eyes fixed on the young woman doing her best to hide in the action of making breakfast. Turning to his daughter, Ryoji was slightly amused to see her jolt a bit at the respectful tone. It was something she was obviously not used to and it set her ill at ease.

“Morning Kyo. Would you mind just calling me Haruhi?” came her nervous reply, making both men grin in unison.

Behind her back, Kyoya was shifting his gaze to her father; as if asking for permission to do as she asked. That melted the ice wall Ryoji had put up in order to properly deal with his daughter’s beau. How careful, how calculated the teen was acting at the moment really impressed the older man and he softened despite himself. “Yes my dear boy. There’s no need for formalities. I have a feeling why you’re here anyway. I approve wholeheartedly. You’re much better than that Tamaki scoundrel,” grumbled the brunette, his normally kind eyes hardening for just a moment at the mention of the blonde’s name.

A loud clatter from the sink made the two men jump and turn to look at Haruhi, blinking when they saw she was looking at them with an expression of utter joy and almost painful hope. It almost took her father’s breath away and made her young lover feel like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. “Tamaki isn’t all that bad but that isn’t really important. Do you... do you mean it dad? Do you actually like Kyoya?” whispered the unusually fragile looking girl as she sunk down onto a cushion by the low table. Kind, wise, amber toned eyes stared at her as her father smiled down at her. Kneeling, he cupped her flushed cheek before pressing a kiss to his daughter’s forehead.

“Certainly. He’s smart, has a level head and can remain coolly rational. Besides, whoever you chose would have been fine with me. I trust you, my lovely, young lady. You’re intelligent enough to make a good decision about who you should be in a relationship with, let alone how far you should take it. Even if you two are sexually active, I know you both use enough foresight to use protection. I give you my full blessing,” Ryoji murmured, getting to his feet and securing his pink robe around his lean form before heading into the kitchen.

“As for breakfast, don’t worry about it Haru. You two relax while I cook,” he offered cheerfully, his slim hips swaying as he slipped into his more natural persona of ‘Ranka’ once more.

As the smell of frying eggs filled the small room, Haruhi stared down at the stained wood of the table she sat at. She could feel the eyes of her boyfriend boring into the top of her head and she had to fight against the urge to fidget. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him being angry, it was more she was afraid of just how intense his eyes would be. The gray/violet orbs, often seen as cold by others, were all too open to her. She could see just what he was thinking on the best of days, making today especially intimidating. If she looked at him now it would more than likely set off a chain of actions that would be extremely hard to stop.

A warm figure pressing against her left side made her jump in surprise, her head turned to see the very man she was avoiding looking at sitting with his body touching hers. Glasses flashed to hide his eyes but his expression told her all she needed to know. It was very subtle, only people who truly knew him would be able to see it but the young heir almost looked hungry while seeming satisfied at the same time. Giving her a subtle smile, the Vice President of the Host Club wrapped a loose arm around her, pulling her against him to press a kiss against her temple. “Mr. Fujioka, I would like to take Haruhi to meet with my father after school. I will bring her home right after. I would like to get all of the necessary actions done and over with as soon as possible. That way, we can both proceed correctly and with guilt free consciences,” Kyoya announced, keeping his gaze firmly on the girl next to him.

All Haruhi could do was gape at the teen, unaware of the food placed in front of her and Kyo. All she could focus on was how strangely serious this was all getting. This was seeming less and less like a casual asking for parents permission to go out. It almost was like he was preparing for the eventuality of asking for her hand in marriage, an idea that seemed utterly ridiculous. They were so young, Kyoya being close to eighteen while she was sixteen. There was no way he could be that serious about a relationship like theirs. Surely his family planned to force him in marriage with some, young heiress as soon as he graduated, something that would happen next year.

Just watching the girl told Kyoya everything he needed to know. Even though she knew him well, she still doubted his words of just a few days ago. All he could do was prove it to her through his actions. Over time, she would come to see the depth of his seriousness. Before Haruhi, he had never met anyone who had stirred him the way she did. He longed to protect her, to watch as she grew into a woman, to have her by his side for the rest of his life. He wanted to have children with her, wanted to build a life together and he would do everything in his power to show that desire to her. So, instead of trying to reassure her with useless words, he wrapped a loose arm around her shoulders to pull her close.

Pressing a kiss to her left temple, he silently drunk in the small, surprised noise she made as well as the way she jolted under his hands. Then he was eating, well aware of how amused Ranka looked as well as just how flustered his soon to be official girlfriend was. He would truly enjoy learning exactly what caused the most adorable reactions and found himself smirking slightly as he ate sedately. Haruhi, on the other hand, seemed to be in quite the hurry to get out of her home. With the way her cheeks flushed as she fairly wolfed down her food, the youngest Ootori could easily deduce she just wanted to get away from the gaze of her father for just a bit. There would no doubt be some lighthearted teasing done on the patriarch’s part later, something Kyoya couldn’t truly grudge him for.

After some time observing other parents, he had long come to the conclusion they saw it as their right to tease their children. It was just a trial of childhood for many and one he couldn’t interfere in. Besides, the experience wouldn’t damage Haruhi in any way. So, when they finished breakfast, he simply bowed to Ranka before leading the still stunned schoolgirl out the door. “This all seems so serious,” whispered his treasure in a stunned voice, drawing him to wrap an arm around her upper shoulders.

“I do believe I told you before, I’m very serious about you. You know enough about me to realize I never do things just halfway, not even relationships. Haruhi, I know you think this is some highschool fling but I will prove to you that you are wrong. For now, let’s get through this day in one piece. My father wants to meet you after school and you will need your strength for that encounter,” Kyoya murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she went very pale.

For a few moments, she could have sworn her heart had stopped in her chest. While Kyo had mentioned it during breakfast, she had been far too flustered by what was going on to pay much attention. Now that she had heard it outside her house, she felt reality creep over her with a cold chill. While she had never met the Ootori patriarch, she had heard more than enough about him to feel intimidated. The man seemed to have a new definition for controlling, especially when it came to his sons. Every aspect of their lives had to be controlled, even down to how good their grades were. It was highly unlikely such a person would see this relationship as anything but youthful folly. There was no chance he would accept her as Kyoya’s true intended.

Just thinking about the conversation to come made her want to shake in her boots. While Kyo’s father was unlikely to take this seriously at first, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t make her feel like she was unworthy. As time went on, this would only get worse as it began to dawn on him that his son fully intended to marry a commoner; a fact even she was having trouble grasping. The boy next to her had been correct with his earlier statement about how well she knew him. As little sense as it made to her, the vice president of the Host Club wanted to make this an extremely serious relationship.

While she was caught up in her thoughts, she had been shoved into the limo that had brought her boyfriend to her doorstep. In fact, she didn’t notice until her back met the leather and she saw the figure of a rather large man in the driver’s seat. Leaning into the teen on her right, Haruhi took a deep breath and tried to relax as the mysterious man drove them to school. It would more than likely be the longest school day in her short life. To top it off, she didn’t share any classes with the slightly older male; leaving her with only the Hitachiins to comfort her. Just the thought of it made her shudder all over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Some Time Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Had it really only been a few hours? It felt like days to the nervous female as she stared up at the clock. It wasn’t even lunch yet, she had no idea how she was going to get through the rest of the day. The twins, being the observant pair they were, knew immediately something was up. In fact, they had been trying to pry it out of her ever since she had come in this morning. There had been a veritable flood of notes from the two of them and they took extra efforts to lean close to her. Kaoru was currently buzzing in one ear while Hikaru sighed and hummed impatiently. Needless to say, this made it very hard to absorb the lesson their sensei was trying to teach them.

Heaving an exasperated sigh, the young girl allowed her head to drop onto the hard wood of her desk with a clunk. Why couldn’t it be lunch yet? At least her day would be closer to being over. Doing her best to force the twins into the background, the sixteen year old tried to focus on her instructor's words. All the while brown eyes kept traveling to a clock that seemed to move at a snail’s pace. At this rate, she would be eighty by the time this whole thing was over. The constant proddings and attention seeking behavior being committed by the brothers certainly wasn’t helping time pass faster.

Unfortunately for her, the identical pair had enough of her ignoring them. Seeming to communicate telepathically, the red haired pair of troublemakers coordinated a strategic attack to get their Haruhi to tell them just what was going on. The fact she had stayed silent so long was highly unusual and they were fairly sure something pretty big was going on. Besides, they had taken it upon themselves to prove to her they had entirely gotten over their horrible behavior not too long ago. If something was bothering her, the pair saw it as their jobs to help. So, with a small nod to his brother, Hikaru leaned toward the young girl; his lips brushing against her ear as he began talking. “Does all this have to do with what the Shadow King told us yesterday?” he rumbled, smirking when she jolted as if shocked.

Jumping away from the slightly older male, Haruhi came very close to falling out of her seat and effectively drawing attention to herself. It was only the quick action of Kaoru that kept her from crashing to the floor. Long, delicate hands landed on her shoulders as her back pressed against a warm body, a soft sigh breezing past her ear and making her skin prickle. “Please tell us little sister. All we want to do is help, its the least we can do after how badly we treated you,” cooed a softer voice too close for comfort.

Hissing like a scalded cat, the young woman flailed at her friends before straightening herself in her seat. The professor unfortunately chose that moment to take notice of what was happening, clearing his throat as he raised a brow at the trio. “If you three are quite finished, would one of you mind telling me what I was just explaining to the class?” the dark haired man asked, his words making Haruhi sink in her chair as her face turned an interesting shade of red. Because of the twins distracting her, she had no idea what had been going on at all in this class. A fact her teacher seemed to be aware of as he shook his head in disappointment.

“I expect such behavior from those two beside you but you, Mr. Fujioka, I expect better from you,” he chided before going back to his lesson.

Humiliation burning in her gullet, the honor student put all her focus into the lesson as it continued. Sadly for her, the two troublemakers were undeterred. In fact, they just saw what happened as a little snag. They would renew efforts as soon as the bell rung, something they knew she was well aware of. If they wanted this to go smoothly, they would have to coordinate a strategic attack to grab her before she could run away. While she couldn’t avoid them forever if she got away, they didn’t want to play cat and mouse all day. They just wanted to get things out in the open so they could help her feel better.

The shrill bell rang out after what seemed like an eternity. Haruhi had both been anticipating the end of class and dreading it. While it signalled the day was one step closer to ending, it also meant the twins pretty much had free reign until their next class started. If she was quick, she would be able to use the press of students fleeing to escape; this notion spurring her into motion. Unfortunately, her plan was immediately derailed by the fact the siblings sandwiched her on either side. A fact she had forgotten entirely in her desperation to avoid the confrontation. The hands that landed on her upper arms in unison as she got to her feet reminded her of it sharply and she felt all hope of escape drain out of her. Slumping in defeat, the young girl disguised as a male was ‘escorted’ out of the classroom and to the room that normally housed the Host Club.

A screen full of figures and graphs scrolled in front of sleek glasses lenses as their bored owner slumped in a comfy armchair. In all his time as the Vice President of the Host Club, this stuff had never seemed mundane to him before He could have sat in front of these screens full of information all day and not noticed at one point. Now he only saw it as a chore, an obligation he was filling just to keep his mind off his lover and all the stress he would be putting her through today. This morning with her father would seem like a far off dream compared to what was coming. His father wasn’t exactly someone who could be called ‘understanding’. Just thinking about it made strange instincts well inside him, instincts that called for him to protect.

Closing the laptop and calling his venture in distracting himself an abject failure, the youngest heir in the Ootori line closed his violet tinged, gray eyes. Then he was taking his glasses off to massage the bridge of his nose in exasperation. As if on cue, the door to the large room opened rather noisily. Sighing as he sat up slowly, the Ice Prince was stunned to see the Hitachiins dragging a very reluctant looking Haruhi behind them. This made him shoot to his feet as his open palms slammed down on the wood of the table he had been sitting at. Of course the duo jumped like the guilty rouges they were, turning to look at him with varying amounts of horror. “Just what were you intending to do with my Haruhi?” hissed out of him, his baritone a thick rasp as he replaced his glasses on his face.

The way his intended practically ran to hide behind him as soon as they loosened their grip only served to further heighten his ire, his hands curling into tight fists as his nostrils flared. He only realized he had been moving toward the pair when he felt a hand grab his coat sleeve and tug. Turning his head, he saw embarrassment instead of the terror he was expecting; doing wonders to draw him out of his killing rage. “They weren’t trying to hurt me Kyo. They just wanted to find out why I seemed distracted,” came the soft voice of his young lover. Deflating as the wind left his sails, Kyoya found himself enveloping the brunette as relief overtook him.

“We will be visiting my father after school today today to make our relationship official. While intimidating, my father won’t harm her. If that is all, I would appreciate if you both left. Your shenanigans have only made her become more on edge,” he gritted out, a faint fury still simmering in the background of his heart.

In a flash, the pair were gone; almost leaving a dust cloud due to the speed of their departure. Pursing his lips, Kyoya gently helped Haruhi over to the large couch that was a popular spot in the Host Club. “Stay here for the moment. I want to ensure we will have some privacy and that you have some peace from those twins,” he urged, pressing a kiss to her forehead before striding toward the large doors that served as an entry into the room. On his way, he pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number; having a hushed conversation as he turned the lock. If he had his way, the obviously overwrought girl wasn’t going to have to worry about anything else today. It would just take a bit of coordinating and some clever use of his innate charisma.

As soon as Kyo had moved away, Haruhi took a deep breath as she felt every muscle in her body relax. It was as if she knew he would take care of everything, that she would be safe; a feeling she hadn’t felt since she was a small girl. A beloved ‘daddy’s girl’ that still appreciated the protection rather than trying to do everything on her own. She had long forgotten how good it felt to be able to just let go, to accept the help of someone else. Smiling, the exhausted teen leaned forward as she rolled her shoulders to release tension. The separation from Kyo combined with the harassment caused by the twins had been more stressful than she had realized. For the first time since she had started pre-school, the disguised female found herself contemplating going to the nurse and playing sick so she could take the rest of this horrible day off.

Shame immediately washed over her as she slumped. She was utterly exhausted from being on edge all day but she still had enough energy to feel ashamed of herself. Large, gentle hands landing on her shoulders effectively erased this feeling as she sighed and leaned back into the touch. “That’s it Haru. Lean back and just take it easy,” husked a familiar voice by her right ear, making her flinch just slightly from the unexpectedness. A warm chuckle came from somewhere behind her as those hands worked out knots caused by the past few hours alone. Soft sounds of sympathy left the man behind her as she whimpered and moaned unconsciously. While the massage hurt, it also felt unimaginably good; making her tingle warmly down the tips of her toes.

“So stressed... My poor dear. Now I know I made the right decision,” rumbled the surprisingly deep voice of her young lover, his hands still moving as his cheek pressed against hers briefly.

“And what decision was that?” murmured her sleepy voice out of nowhere, her entire body almost feeling formless due to how relaxed she was.

“To have you take the rest of the day off and have the Hitachiins drop off your homework between classes. That way you can stay here and turn in your work at the end of the day,” replied the anchoring voice of Kyoya, the words making her come out of her haze slightly.

Short, brown bangs falling into her similarly colored eyes, the still dazed female rolled her head to look at the boy behind her as his hands came to a stop. Not knowing whether to feel annoyed or relieved, the disguised girl decided to grasp his left hand in hers. Bringing it to her lips, she drank in his reaction as her lips brushed the soft skin there. His nostrils had flared as he inhaled sharply, his fingers twitching ever so slightly as his stormy eyes dilated. The hint of violet became darker, almost turning the normally cold orbs a strange purple color. A sigh of her name left his lips as he pulled his hand slowly from hers.

His need for her was extremely clear in that singular utterance and she found herself feeling more than just a little disappointed when he pulled away to smooth his hair and straighten his tie. “As much as I want you, we must wait until after we talk to my father. I will do right by you,” he declared, his voice strained as he walked back to his laptop. Haruhi could only watch, caught between confusion, annoyance and amusement. She had never met anyone that made her feel this way, made her want something like sex so much that she didn’t really care about propriety. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to walk over to one of the bookcases and pull down a book.

As much as she burned to kiss him, touch him, taste him; she wouldn’t try to seduce him. For one, she wasn’t like that and for another, doing something like that to Kyoya just felt wrong. He had trusted her with a side of himself he showed to no one else. He was gifting her with his love, his passion. If she pressed the issue, it would damage everything they had built in such a short amount of time. So, ignoring the insistent pulsing between her legs, the sixteen year old turned to the first page of the novel and began to read. She never noticed the hungry gaze her boyfriend was giving her in between bouts of typing on his keyboard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End of the Day! (Finally)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While it made him feel more at ease to have her in sight for the remainder of the school day, it also made the passing hours feel more torturous. The moans she had uttered during the massage combined with the kiss she had given his hand had filled him with an unbearable need for her. Once this upcoming meeting with his father was over he would more than likely pounce on her like a starving lion onto an injured antelope. As it was, it was only his legendary self control that kept him from doing so now. His only solace was Haruhi seemed much more relaxed than earlier. In fact, she almost seemed at peace.

The young girl that was dressed in a boy’s uniform had long since curled up on the couch with her school work, diligently completing her work as if she were in class. Because of this, she always had homework to pass back off to the twins; making the pair promise to drop it all off for her. Just watching her made a warm feeling of pride rise within his chest. She had good priorities as well as some decent self control of her own, if her scent earlier had been any indication. As he had backed away after her lips had brushed his knuckles he had caught faintest musky hint of her arousal. Something he was actively working to not think about.

Instead, he allowed the sound of her pencil scratching across the paper to soothe him. All too soon, their small slice of paradise would be blown apart by their very loud but well-meaning friends. Any alone time with her was precious and here he was, staring at a screen full of finances for the club; something he could admittedly do at any time. So, closing his laptop as quietly as he could manage, Kyoya got to his feet and made his way silently over to the couch. For reasons even the young man didn’t know, he wanted to sneak up on his soon to be official lover. He wanted to see the slight hint of fear on her pretty face, to wrap his arms around her from behind and rest his cheek against hers. More importantly, he just wanted to be close to her; to savor what quiet time they had left.

Haruhi was staring at what was left of her math homework, frustrated and disappointed with herself. She had been doing so well, she had been going through assignments one by one but now she found herself hitting a wall. She felt downright antsy, her gaze travelling to the teen sitting at a table a few feet away from her. Being new to all of this, the young teen just couldn’t understand why this kept happening. Or why she felt the oddest urge to go over there and drape herself against his strong back. In fact, just the thought of what those muscles would feel like against her developing breasts made her feel a bit like jello on the inside. Huffing softly in irritation, the determined school girl forced her gaze to stay on the sheet of paper in front of her; never noticing the diversion she was doing her best to ignore was currently sneaking up on her.

A faintly pleasant scent was her only warning before a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her back against the couch. Warm breath brushed her cheek, smelling faintly of mint as a slightly rough cheek pressed against hers. Almost immediately, she relaxed into a girl shaped puddle; brown eyes fluttering closed as she felt lips brushing the corner of her own almost teasingly. “Kyo, I have to do this school work before next bell,” came a half-hearted protest both of them knew she didn’t mean. In fact, it felt like he was slowly setting her body on fire; her lower body pulsing and tightening with want.

“Mmm but next bell is the final one for the day. After that, Host Club will start and I’ll have to share you with everyone again,” rumbled a quiet response by her left ear, the gruffness of his voice making her skin prickle pleasantly. Gentle hands traveled from her shoulders, down her front to cup her small, sensitive breasts.

That made her eyes shoot open as she instinctually turned her head to look at the young man behind her. She was met by an eager kiss, a soft groan of need leaving the teen. Her hands moved of their own accord, one moving to play with the hair on the nape of his neck while the other rested on his upper back. “Oh Haru... I don’t know if I can wait until the end of the day,” whispered the ‘Ice Prince’ against her mouth before the shrill ring of the bell made them jump apart like the guilty teenagers they were. Within seconds, the double doors flew open to admit the ever gregarious Tamaki.

“Kyoya! Haruhi! You both decided to get an early start with the club today! I’m so happy you both care about our family so much! We have so much to do to get ready for the event!” the blonde declared, his blue eyes glittering as he ran toward them to scoop them into a tight hug. The pair could only look at eachother over the back of his head, both looking rather confused.

The ‘event’ Tamaki had mentioned turned out to be a full bore experience. He wanted costumes, sets, ambiance, the works. The excited blonde had insisted he had sent many messages to Kyoya, sparking off an argument that had been solved as soon as the heir opened his phone. There had been a flood of missed text and calls, all of them having been missed because the Shadow King had switched off his phone. Needless to say, none of this helped the fact there was an impossible amount of work to do. Even with the help of all the club members, they had barely made it in time for opening. Needless to say, the normally well put together Ootori teen had been ready to kill someone by the time everything was over.

When the entire mess had come to a merciful end, the dark haired teen had taken Haruhi and practically dragged her out of the school. His jaw was tense as he strode toward the limo awaiting them, telling her more than enough about his current mood. He was furious, starting a rant about their mutual ditzy friend as soon as they got into the vehicle. He started going on about how the half french male was irresponsible and how he always seemed to have the most elaborate ideas. “Almost all of them are impractical, not to mention the expense of the costumes, props, hairdressing and other assorted things! If it weren’t for me, the numbskull would have driven the Host Club into deep debt,” he bit out in a stream of rage.

Anger and frustration was all he could feel, embarrassment hanging around in the background. He had never been so distracted by anything that he would ignore his phone or even turn it on silent. He had just been so concerned about Haruhi that he simply hadn’t wanted to deal with anything else. In the end, he had paid for it dearly by having to rush the huge event Tamaki had wanted to do. He knew he only had himself blame but that didn’t help him feel better. It was only a slender arm wrapping around his broad shoulders that drew him out of his haze.

Jolting slightly, the dark haired male stopped talking mid-sentence before turning to look at the suit clad girl to his left. She was smiling up at him, her brown bangs framing her face and accentuating some of her softer features. Any left over aggression immediately bleed out him in a rush as he allowed his fingertips to brush his lover’s left cheek. Oh how he longed to press her tiny body into the leather of these seats. To remove the tie she wore before unbuttoning the jacket covering her shirt. Instead, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before tugging her close. It wouldn’t be much longer before he got home.

Although it had only been a fifteen minute drive, it had felt like an eternity to the now very nervous girl. One thing she was grateful for was that his closeness had kept her calm. There was something inherently soothing about his scent as well as energy, not to mention the fact he wouldn’t move his hand from her shoulder. It had felt like he would protect her from anything and she found herself nuzzling into the school jacket he wore. Unfortunately, as soon as they pulled up to his house, the youngest Ootori was releasing her; a cold mask slipping over his face as his glasses flashed briefly to hide his eyes.

She hadn’t seen such an expression on his face since the incident at the beach, the memory making her shudder slightly. He had come very close to scaring her that night. For a few seconds, she had almost thought he would continue with his advance whether she wanted it or not. Ironically, it had ended with them being intimate anyway. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Haruhi took a deep breath to gather her courage before following her young lover out of the limo. Thankfully he was right there, taking her hand to wrap it around his right arm before leading her toward the hulking mansion.

It was absolutely massive, looking like it stepped out of a page of Victorian history. Honestly, it stunned her to see such a high powered, Japanese family going with a more British inspired design. It was completely built of red brick, several windows facing the driveway alone. Sandwiching the large, box-like structure were tall, rounded towers; giving the building a castle-like feel. It seemed almost appropriate for the Ootoris after just being around Kyoya for as long as she had. The house was almost like a visual declaration of their arrogance and this notion came dangerously close to making her giggle.

Carefully schooling her face into a neutral mask, the sixteen year old allowed her slightly older boyfriend to lead her up the stairs and past the large double doors that almost seemed to open automatically for them. A quick glance to the left and right revealed a male and female positioned at each door. Shuddering a bit at the strangeness, Haruhi clutched tighter to light blue material of Kyoya’s jacket. “Master Kyoya, how was school?” murmured a voice from Kyo’s left, making a cold wash of fear wash over her body. Craning her head around his back, she saw a very tall, broad man looming over her boyfriend. He wore a black suit and dark sunglasses, his light brown hair swept back into neat spikes.

So far, he had to say he was impressed with Haruhi’s courage. He could tell the poor girl was utterly terrified, none of this helped by the appearance of Tachibana by his side. The man, while extremely efficient, had the silence and speed of a ninja. It could be rather intimidating to the uninitiated. Still the man was a mainstay of his house, having been his guard for as long as he could remember. While most students handed over their coat and homework to their mother, he handed his to the man beside him; not even blinking because of how routine it was. “Tamaki came up with another of his hair-brained schemes. Honestly, for the son of our Principal you’d think he’d have a bit more business sense,” he sighed before continuing to lead Haruhi into the house.

“Am I to assume this young man is the Haruhi you wanted to introduce as your intended?” the bodyguard asked, his deep voice completely neutral as he followed his young master.

Kyoya could only smirk as he felt his disguised treasure jump slightly. Before she could begin to explain what her real gender was, the young heir nodded. “Indeed. Would you kindly inform father we have come home? We will wait outside his study,” the ever cool boy ordered, going up a large set of stairs and heading down a long hall. His faithful guard only nodded before fairly disappearing to do as he was asked. Then he was pulling his confused girlfriend toward a large set of double doors that were made of oak. To the right of the doors was a long bench that looked expertly carved. It was topped with a soft looking, silk covered, red cushion. It almost looked like the outside of a Principal’s office, made to be as intimidating as possible to the offspring waiting for an audience outside.

It almost felt like her head was spinning with how fast things were going. All she could do was hold onto Kyo and try to ignore the feeling of being in trouble. As soon as she had seen the door, she had gotten the exact same impression Kyo had. She almost felt an urge to hunch guiltily despite having done nothing wrong. Well, unless you counted having sex out of wedlock as well as initiating a relationship without proper permission from both sets of parents. While her own father didn’t actually care that much about such proprieties and was putting on a big show for his daughter, she had a pretty good indication the head of the Ootori house would care far too much.

Just imagining what he would have to say if he ever found out about their indiscretions made her want to shake in her boots. Instead, she squared her shoulders and took a another deep breath to gird herself. If she was going to face this man she was going to show a brave face, she would have plenty of time to cry afterward. For now, it was important that she didn’t show fear. Yet that didn’t stop her heart from jumping into her throat when the door closest to their seat opened. Fortunately, it was only the strange man from earlier. “Your father will call when he is ready. Just wait patiently,” the huge man murmured, bowing before leaving.

What followed was a torturous practice in patience and fortitude. The poor girl found herself swinging between intense fear and nervousness. It was only Kyo’s arm wrapped around her shoulders that kept her from entering a panic. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the door closest to them opened yet again; an older, deeper voice bidding them to enter. Heart jumping into her throat, Haruhi got to her feet and brushed off her slacks before going in; the ‘Ice Prince’ following close behind. Once inside, it was all she could do to stop her jaw from dropping open due to the sheer grandeur of the room.

It was huge and circle shaped, stained, wooden walls stretching to an arched ceiling and a rich, dark carpet on the floor. Ahead of them was a huge desk, much too big for the man sitting behind it; shelves of books littering the walls of the semi-circle behind it. On the other walls were pictures of people Haruhi didn’t recognize but felt a vague sense of deja-vu just looking at. They were all dark haired, gray eyed individuals, leading her to believe they were all relatives of the Ootori family. Or, at least the most important males.

Gaze travelling to the desk itself, the young woman caught her first real look at the patriarch she had come to visit. The man was tall but not nearly as tall as she had imagined. Still there was an air of dignity as well as a command of respect from anywho entered. He was dressed in a dark suit similar to the man from earlier and a dark mustache graced his upper lip. His gray eyes held a slight violet hue, resembling his youngest son’s but lacking any of their warmth. Pursing his lips, he made a curt gesture for the pair to step forward.

Pressing a hand against Haruhi’s upper back, Kyoya moved toward the desk in unison with the surprisingly calm female. Just seconds before, she had been trying her hardest to seem brave and had been failing horribly. He had been very close to just calling off the whole thing when the door had opened and his father had called them in. In a second, all traces of her discomfort had disappeared for a neutral mask that almost fooled even him. As they had stepped into the room, he had felt an immense amount of pride for the young woman. She would make an excellent lawyer and he had to repress a satisfied smirk at his choice in a life partner.

“So... You’re the young girl who thinks she’s good enough to be seen as an official girlfriend to one of the Ootoris,” declared a voice he had grown up with, drawing the seventeen year old back to the present with a hard crash. Instinctually, he moved his hand from her back to her shoulder; squeezing gently as he fought against the dangerous urge to glower at his father. It took a few more minutes to realize the man knew Haruhi’s true gender. While this shouldn’t surprise him, Kyoya found himself rendered almost speechless by this revelation. He was so distracted he didn’t see the expression on his lover’s pretty face.

Surrounded by opulence and drowning in arrogance, Haruhi could only feel a growing indignation at all the implications this man’s statement had held. “With all due respect sir, Kyoya and I made the decision to be in a relationship mutually. In fact, he was the one that suggested we become involved in the first place,” she replied, her voice even and quiet despite how angry she felt. She was so upset, in fact, she had completely missed the fact the older man knew she was a girl when he shouldn’t have such knowledge.

“Nevertheless, you accepted. I know all about you and your family Miss Fujioka. From what I’ve seen, I’m not convinced you’re not trying to use my family to boost your own standing in society. Your father works in a disreputable club and you come from middle class. Seducing one of my sons would work perfectly as a means to get you a better life,” the straight laced business tycoon pointed out, his icy eyes feeling like they were biting into her soul.

Beside her, she could feel Kyo puffing up in anger on her behalf. Before he could say anything, the incensed teen was slamming her palms down on the hard wood of the desk separating her from the man before her. Never before in her life had she felt this enraged at anyone. Even the Club’s off hand remarks about her commoner status hadn’t insulted her as much as what this full grown male had said to her. “I have worked hard to get to where I am now. My grades and my schoolwork were what got me into a prestigious school like Ouran. I never relied on anyone else to get me where I wanted to go and I never will! As for my father, he has worked hard to bring me up on his own since my mother died! Why should you care about what he has to do in order to put food on our table?! On top of that, he enjoys what he does and no one has the right to take it away from him! It easy for you, of all people to look down your nose at us when you are the one who has money! Did it ever occur to you that, just maybe, I actually love Kyoya with all of my heart?” she exploded, a bit surprised by what had come out of her own mouth.

Both men in the room with her had frozen in place, each a different stage of shocked as they stared at her. She didn’t have to take a good look at their expressions to know they hadn’t expected that to come out of her. Clearing her throat as her cheeks flushed, Haruhi loosened her tie before taking a deep breath and trying again. “I apologize for my outburst sir. But I will not just stand here while my family’s honor is dragged through the mud. We Fujiokas may be poor but we have our own dignity. We don’t need to hang off of anyone’s coat tails to get what we want,” she murmured quietly, bowing her head. She was completely taken off guard when she heard a very soft chuckle.

Kyoya looked from his girlfriend to his father, feeling a strange mixture of fury and satisfaction whiling within him. On one hand, he wanted to yell at his father. On the other, he wanted to pick up his girlfriend and whirl her around before planting a passionate kiss on her. In all his life, he had never seen anyone stand up to his tyrant of a father like she had. Any lingering doubts that she would be able to hold her own within his society melted away as an image of her faced with another woman flirting with him filled his head. If she was like this with his father, she would have no trouble at all establishing herself as someone worthy of respect and a little bit of fear.

Then the most unexpected thing all day happened, his father chuckled. A man he thought devoid of humor was actually laughing about being told off by a sixteen year old. On top of that, the normally stern CEO didn’t seem the least bit angry about the teen’s defense of her family. “I assumed as much when I looked at copies of your transcripts. I must say, it certainly puts my fears to rest to hear you repeat them in such a... spirited manner. You may date my son for now, just as long as you two do not distract each other from school work,” came the calm, dismissive reply; telling the pair there would be more convincing to do when it came time to marry.

As it was, the youngest heir decided to take what he could get for now and bowed to his father; swallowing remarks about how this wasn’t temporary in the least. Thankfully, the suit clad femme to his right followed his lead; bending at the waist as well before turning on her heel and leading the way out of the spacious room. Her small hands were curled into little fists and her lips were quivering as red colored her cheeks. Despite her calm demeanor earlier, she was obviously still overflowing with anger as well as indignation. In all honesty, he didn’t truly blame her and pressed a kiss to her forehead as they entered into the hall. “Come Haru, I want to show you around my childhood home,” he purred, holding her close to his side as he led her deeper into the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Day Before Graduation~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Absolutely not! You expect me to just accept the fact you plan on marrying a commoner?! You know very well I already had a fiance lined up for you when you turned eighteen. She will be the one you marry. If you want to keep Haruhi Fujioka as a mistress, I do not care but I will not let you sully our line with her blood,” echoed a furious voice through spacious halls, making two residents of the mansion smile bitterly to eachother.

“I have to give Kyo credit, he’s got nerve to suggest that little scrap of a girl join our family. She has no social standing, let alone no money. Did he really expect our father to just agree without a fight?” sneered the younger of the pair, his light brown hair hanging slightly in his face as his cold, gray eyes stared forward. Beside him, his taller brother pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose; a slightly melancholy look on his drawn face.

Though dressed immaculately, the older male looked both tired and defeated. Years of stress and control showed on his pale face, making him look decades older than he was. He was only in his early twenties and already looked forty. It was very likely he would not lead a long or very happy life. “At least he is doing something to achieve the life he wants. What did we do Akito? We rolled over and let him micromanage every single aspect of our lives,” murmured his tired baritone as the shorter man on his right flinched. Both of them had taken girlfriends, women they had loved very dearly. Yuuichi still remembered the confrontation over his own choice.

Beside him, his younger sibling shook his head vehemently before slamming his palms against the crimson painted wall and launching himself into the middle of the room. The elder doctor could only watch, brushing his ebony bangs out of his own purple tinged eyes. As he watched the second in line pace, he felt a sense of deep sympathy. Akito had truly loved Yumi with all his heart, had given her his trust entirely. When their father had ended the relationship for him, it had broken the ambitious, mischievous boy. He had only been sixteen and had lost what spark had been inside him on that day. Any hint of the joking, prank pulling brother he had known had simply disappeared. “It was for the best. For the good of the family. Soon, Kyo will see it as well,” came the empty, almost flippant reply they both knew Akito didn’t mean.

“I somehow doubt our dear brother will be willing to let our father have his way. Even if that means being disowned, which I doubt father would do to one of his sons. Unlike our unfortunate sister, we men are too valuable to him to let go. After all, if anything happens to me or you he’d need Kyo to take over; just for his last name alone,” Yuuichi sighed, taking his glasses off to polish the lenses.

Across from him, Akito could only purse his lips as a faint look of irritated helplessness crossed his face. “You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t resent the fact father threw away Fuyumi over such a small matter as her marrying a man she loves? Why should the whelp get to be happy while we suffer?” snarled the brunette just before a shocked expression came over his young face and his left hand came up to cover his mouth. Yuuichi could only smile softly in understanding as well as sadness.

“Because he has an inner strength that we both lacked brother. If he has the bravery to fight for who he wants to be with, I will offer him what support I can. I hope you will do the same,” the older of the pair sighed before walking out of the room and down the hall.

Unaware of what was happening elsewhere in the house, the youngest of the Ootori children stood before his father without so much as flinching at the outburst. Before he had met Haruhi, he would have been as intimidated as his brothers. He would have simply nodded and accepted whatever he had been ordered to do, all the while simmering quietly with anger. This time, he wasn’t going to back down so easy. There was just no way in Hell he was going to give up a woman he loved and trusted for someone his father hand-picked. Even if that meant giving up the inheritance he still very much wanted to depose his brothers for.

Pushing his glasses up on his nose, Kyoya squared his shoulders before clearing his throat. “I appreciate your concern father but I refuse to marry some upper class girl who only wants our name to add to her own reputation. Isn’t that the exact same thing you accused Haruhi of?” he pointed out calmly, taking a small amount of satisfaction from the brief expression of utter shock that crossed his dad’s face.

“That is... That is not the point and you know it! What would people say when they find out the youngest son of Yoshio Ootori was going to marry some girl of no social status?! We would never be taken seriously again. All the hard work of your forefathers would be for naught!” the older man in front of him hissed, getting slowly to his feet and placing his open hands on the desk as he leveled a glare at the teen he had so easily controlled just months before.

“You had your chance to protest when I first brought her home. Even then, I would not have listened to you. Haruhi Fujioka is a remarkable woman, someone worthy of your praise and not your derision. The fact she got into Ouran on grades alone should be more than enough to tell you how dedicated she is! Even with the Host Club and our relationship, her marks have never dropped. Even though she’s not from money, she’s destined for great things and I intend to be by her side for them,” the now eighteen year old declared, biting back the dangerous urge to laugh when the stoic CEO began to turn slightly pink from anger.

“He is right father. Although I have yet to meet the dear girl for any extended period of time, she seems to be very determined. She would be more of a match than whichever debutante you picked out,” came a deeper, older voice from the end of the room.

The father and son duo jumped in unison before looking at the source of the voice, Kyoya’s jaw nearly going through the floor when he saw his oldest brother. “Yuuichi... you dare to...,” sputtered the voice of their patriarch, sounding as shocked as he felt.

“Yes father. For once in my life, I do dare. Kyoya has chosen his bride well. If he wants to marry her, I will give him what support he needs,” came a very calm, stern response, the bespectacled doctor moving toward the pair slowly.

The young teen could only stare at his oldest brother, confusion the most prevalent feeling inside him. Since he could remember, his brothers had never shown much interest in him or even affection. To have something like this happen was tantamount to stepping into an alternate reality. Kyoya found himself almost wanting to ask this person if he was really Yuuichi Ootori. He was so flabbergasted, he had forgotten what was going on until he heard his father begin to speak. “I am only trying to do what is best for him as well as our family! Did I not choose brides for both you and your brother. I heard no complaint from either of you,” Yoshio ground out, stalking from behind his desk to stand toe to toe with his eldest; his pale cheeks slightly flushed from his deep rage.

“That’s because we were too afraid to stand up for ourselves. We simply wanted to please and only ended up making ourselves miserable. As much as I hate to see a brat like Kyo get anything I can’t have, I have to agree with Yuu,” came another voice, slightly higher than Yuuichi’s. Kyoya didn’t have to turn his head to know it was Akito.

Doing his best to shove his utter bewilderment into the background, the vice president of the Ouran Host club took a step back so his middle brother could join the small gathering. “This lil runt may be young but he has a good head on his shoulders,” Akito continued, placing a hand on the top of Kyoya’s head. Narrowing his eyes, the ‘Ice Prince’ pushed his second sibling away before giving the brunette a look that said he expected an explanation later. He wasn’t too surprised when the lighter haired man merely smirked in reply before giving their father a disaffected look.

Yoshio seemed just as taken off guard by the sudden rebellion of his two older sons as Kyoya was, barely able to keep his cool mask of authority in place. In reality, all he wanted to do was gape at the two young men in utter astonishment. Their change in attitude seemed so sudden and out of nowhere that he wanted to ask them why they were acting like this. Instead, he straightened his tie before slowly shaking his head. “After all I have done for you two, I never expected such rebellion,” rumbled his deep baritone, the deeper tones bouncing easily off the wooden walls.

“You had us well under your thumb for years. We were both far too used to just giving in to fight you. Even on matters of the heart,” murmured the voice of his oldest, the heartbreak clinging to his tone drawing more attention than his words.

For just a moment, Yoshio almost looked as if he had been struck. In the same instant the cold, unfeeling mask they were all used to slammed back into place. Then he was turning his back on the trio, a clear dismissal. Knowing it wasn’t quite acceptance but deciding to take what he can get, Kyoya bowed to his father’s back before leaving the room. Thankfully, he was followed by his two brothers; saving him the trouble of hunting them down later. As soon as they were outside, the teen was looking from one brother to the next. “Either of you care to explain just what happened in there?” he ventured. The darker haired, taller Yuuichi only smiled, the expression looking more like a pained grimace.

“I don’t want to see the life slowly sapped from you. Even if father kicks you out of the family, I will support you as best I can,” the young doctor assured before using his longer stride to get ahead of his two brothers.

The eighteen year old halted in his tracks, staring at his sibling’s back as the distance slowly increased between them. Ever since he could remember, he had seen the eldest as his rival; an obstacle he had to overcome to get what he wanted. Tonight had showed him an entirely different side to the current head of the Ootori brothers and he had no idea just how he was going to handle this information. A hand on his left shoulder jolted him back to reality and he barely restrained his urge to jump away as he turned his head to look at his would be assailant. When he saw Akito, his apprehension only increased.

The brown haired doctor smiled down at the third in line, a faint pang squeezing his heart as he found himself thinking about his Makoto. If he had been as brave as Kyoya had been today, there was a strong possibility he would still be with her. There were so many nights where she was all he could think about, even when making love to his appointed fiance. It infuriated him that the baby of the family should get what both of them had been denied. Yet, deep down, he knew he could have fought harder. “Listen,” uttered his rough voice as his body moved to kneel before the high schooler, “You had better treat her right.” Then he was straightening to follow Yuuichi, not looking back even once.

Stunned, the Shadow King could only straighten his tie as he tried to recover from whatever had happened. As bewildered as he was, he decided not to question it; making his way down the hall to meet up with Tachibana. Besides, it wasn’t as if there wasn’t other things to worry about today. There had been some rumors about Tamaki dissolving the Host Club after today. There had also been some whispers about him being forced to marry, something none of them wanted to happen. Right now, the most important thing was to get to school and find out just what was going on. If there was any truth to the gossip, he and the others would have to formulate a plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later That Afternoon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A somber atmosphere filled the strangely silent room. A room which had once held laughter, now almost seened to resemble a funeral parlor. Almost all the furniture had been cleared away, leaving only fold out chairs for the few occupants to sit in. Gone were the giggling, blushing girls; replaced by a terrifyingly somber looking Tamaki. His normal, puppy dog smile was gone, a cold look of uncaring in its place. Something was seriously wrong, a weird tension filling the air as blue eyes stared at the former Host Club. “I’m afraid I must leave you all,” the half French teen whispered, his voice holding an uncharacteristic edge.

The words shot through the small group like a stab, Haruhi swaying in her seat as her heart clenched. For a few days now, she had sensed something was off about her dear friend. He had suddenly stopped referring to her as his daughter, seeming to disappear from the Club at odd times. When she thought back, she realized it all coincided with the arrival of a certain girl. A girl who had only been seen once but seemed to have a strange power over the teen. Over time, all the life appeared to drain out of him; leaving this husk that stood before them.

Yet, somewhere in the wasteland of his eyes, there was a faint glimmer of something. A light that seemed to being screaming for help, for anyone to rescue him. To make matters worse, Haruhi felt like she was the only one who had noticed any of these horrible things. The twins had basically shut down when Tamaki pulled into himself, no longer communicating with anyone but her. Both Mori and Honey were so busy with their own graduation preparations that they could barely come to club, let alone pay attention to what was happening to their friend. As for the one who should be closest to the president, he had been much too preoccupied with trying to get an audience with his father to even be fully aware of what was going on. Thus, the girl who would have been with Tamaki found herself in a very awkward position.

Getting to her feet, the disguised female walked toward the distraught blonde. Reaching forward, she took his hands in hers; feeling a pang in her heart when she realized they were shaking. “Oh Tama-chan... that must have been so painful for you to decide. But... you do know you don’t have to do any of this. We will stand with you and help you in any way you can. If you’re being forced into this, I beg of you to allow us to assist you,” she whispered, movement catching the corner of her eye as she felt his hands grip hers just briefly.

Not daring to take her eyes off the half French male, she gave him her best puppy dog eyes; internally kicking herself for using this tactic against her dear friend. Because he considered her a daughter of sorts he had a huge soft spot as far as she was concerned. Often, if he heard so much as an adverse sniffle, he would come barrelling to her side; swearing to rid her of the rogue who had harmed her. It was more than just a little amusing to see his crestfallen expression when, more often than not, she told him it was just a stuffy nose. To use this trait to her advantage felt downright dirty. “I wish I could Haruhi... I’m so afraid...,” came a desperate whisper from the once confident boy, sounding on the verge of tears.

The sight Kyoya was greeted with upon entry told him there was a lot more wrong than he had initially thought. It seemed like his brash, confident companion was utterly petrified of something. A fact that unsettled him more than anything that had happened with his brothers. He was known for being on top of thing, always knowing information before anyone else did. Such an egregious lapse bothered him greatly, making him want to grind his teeth in frustration as he moved toward the pair in the center of the room. “There is no one here to overhear. Tell us what is going on,” demanded a voice that sounded so much like his father’s, the ‘Shadow King’ came very close to turning his head to see if Yoshio had followed him.

Everyone else seemed just as confused by his outburst as he was but the Ootori heir stood his ground, determined to help the boy he hoped would be a life-long friend. To his horror, the young man burst into tears before launching himself. It was everything the slightly younger male could do to keep his balance as Tamaki practically slumped into him. Through the high pitched wails of his dear friend, Kyoya could swear he could pick up some actual words. Among them were a female name as well as some bits about never being able to see his mother again. Just hearing it made a spike of ice spear the young heir’s heart and he pulled away from the blonde to look him in the eyes. “Try that again, a bit more calmly if you please?” whispered the famous Ootori baritone, completely neutral while being all business.

Tamaki took a deep, shuddering breath; his lower lip shuddering as tears streaked down his porcelain colored cheeks. “Its... its that girl that Grandma wants me to marry. She... she made me... my mother... Oh Mama please help me!” the desperate male pleaded, the last part directed at the brunette holding him up. Behind him, the others stared at eachother in a stunned silence; the only exception being Haruhi. She was heading toward them with a determined look that mirrored the feelings burning inside his heart at the moment.

“Do you mean to tell me she’s the one who caused all of this?” hissed the crossdressing female, her voice holding a venom none of them had heard before.

Red was all she could see as her body crossed the distance on its own, a fury she had never felt filling every fiber of her being. To have suspicions was one thing, to hear them actually put into words was another thing entirely. The need to hurt, to maim was overtaking her, making her shake just a bit as she came to a stop mere feet from the two boys. It was only Tamaki’s watery eyes that softened her, her rage dropping instantly as she rushed forward to wrap him in a hug. Within moments the rest of the group was enveloping all of them in a hug, Mori’s normally stoic eyes full of a deep worry and protectiveness.

“Yes... she is... Sh-she made me... made me close the club. If I didn’t, she was going to go to... to my grandmother. She said she would make s-sure I’d never.... that I wouldn’t s-see...,” came the broken response, the final part of his sentence whispered so quietly the people he called family almost didn’t hear it. It was the word mother.

That singular utterance nearly broke Haruhi, the young girl knowing far too well what it was like to lose someone that important to you. Raising her head to meet Kyo’s eyes, the wanna-be lawyer felt a large measure of relief to see the same things she felt. Somehow, the suit clad femme just knew he had a plan. Even if he didn’t, the ‘Shadow King’ was good at coming up with them on the fly. It comforted her to know that he was here, let alone the fact she hadn’t even had to communicate verbally for him to know what she was thinking and agree. She didn’t know just how they were going to fix things but it would end today, no matter what.

Twin, Oaken doors slowly opened; the creak from their well used hinges easily echoing in the large, empty room. A sliver of light spilled in, cutting the inky darkness like a knife as a pink nailed hand curled around the edge of the leftmost door. A snobby, sharp looking face peered in; reddish brown hair coming to swing into her face. Mean, blue eyes scanned the sizeable area, eventually coming to rest on some folding chairs sitting in the middle of the room. “Tamaki?” whispered a deceptively sweet voice as a slim figure moved into the rounded chamber, her shoulders flinching slightly when the doors slammed shut behind her.

“No my delicate flower, just me,” purred a rich baritone, silky like chocolate; yet holding just a hint of danger.

A spotlight came on overhead, temporarily blinding the two people in the center of the room. When the lone female could finally see again, she saw the youngest of the Ootori house before her. Eyes widening, the young girl took a step back as her head turned from right to left to look for her missing intended. “Don’t bother looking for the Suoh boy. I am the one who summoned you here. I’ve had to write so many checks in that fool’s name that I can mimick his hand writing perfectly,” the suit clad noble stated, his voice holding an odd tone.

“Wh-why did you go through such lengths to trick me?” came the simpering, sickening hopeful reply; sly eyes moving over the teen.

Curling a hand into a fist and taking a deep breath, Kyoya forced himself to plaster a small smile on his face. Frothing with fury on the inside, the cool teen forced a smile onto his handsome face. “Is there any way I might convince you to leave that blonde fool for me? A fine specimen such as yourself is far too good for the likes of him. Besides, I could offer you a much better life than he ever could,” he purred, the words tasting vile on his tongue. It only made things worse when the witch’s eyes began to glimmer with a hopeful gleam. The normally cool teen found himself fighting to hold back vomit as Éclair Tonnerre slinked toward him like a lioness prowling up to an injured antelope.

An Ootori heir, even one not in line for full in heritance, was a fine prize for any gold digger; a fact Kyoya was painfully aware of. Just the feel of her pressing her palm against his chest as she sidled up to him made his skin crawl. Forcing a cool, almost haughty mask onto his face, the clever teen reminded himself over and over why he was allowing this violation of both his person and his morals. All he needed was her to say one thing and he would be able to end this farce. So, when she sighed and leaned on him, he placed his arm around her upper back before placing his left cheek on top of her head. “I have to admit, I am attracted to you but I never thought you would show any interest in me. To hear you make such a confession makes me happy. I would love to be with you. Tamaki is much too childish and naive. It was only because of a deal my father and his grandmother made that I’m even with the fool. I need a man of maturity, someone that has a good head on their shoulders. If we are going to do this, we must leave tonight. That Haruhi boy can have that half-breed all to himself,” whispered a sickeningly cloying voice, the words he had been hoping to hear.

In an instant, another spotlight came on with an intermittent clicking sound; flooding the area around them with light. In the same moment, Éclair jumped away from him as if she had been burned; azure eyes looking around suspiciously. Suddenly, shrill laughter filled the room as the sound of large hydraulics came from somewhere in the darkness. Then, with a puff of smoke, a large podium rose out of the ground in a spinning motion. Another spotlight came on over the towering structure, revealing the self appointed manager of the Host Club, Renge. “Finally! The snake outs herself for who she really is!” declared the over-enthusiastic female, her hands on her dress clad hips.

It was at that moment the rest of the lights in the room came on, showing that the room hadn’t been as empty as she had first assumed. Along the walls stood the rest of the Host Club, each of them looking deceptively neutral. With the fury only a jilted female could muster, Éclair spun on Kyoya. “All of that... was a trick?!” she hissed, her cobalt eyes turning slightly green from rage. The infamous Ice Prince only smirked, raising one hand to perform a summoning motion. Within seconds, Haruhi was by his side; wrapping a possessive arm around him as she glared at the female across from them.

“That’s right you wicked witch. Do you really think we would just sit quietly while you abused our friend,” Renge hissed, hopping off her podium to run towards the three near the center of the room.

Éclair could only gape, rage slowly dawning on her face as the others closed in as well. Even Tamaki, the blonde standing to the left of Kyoya as he avoided his appointed fiance’s gaze. Puffing up in response, the haughty female flicked her reddish brown hair behind an ear before setting a hand on her hip and giving the entire group a poisonous smile. “You may have gotten me to reveal myself to all of you but none of that matters. Suoh’s benefactor still has a deal with my father. Besides, you have no proof,” the viper pointed out, looking extremely smug. It was only when the others continued to stare at her that the slightest hint of unease flickered over her deceptively pretty face.

“They do not need proof Miss Tonnerre. Kyoya himself made sure I was here to witness your treachery,” came and elderly female voice from the back of the room, making the copper haired femme freeze in place.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Éclair turned to see an elderly woman coming out of a room hiding near the left corner of the back of the room. Her face had a sharp, unforgiving look to it, her gray-blue eyes leveled on the teen she had intended to marry her grandson. Kimono swishing around her, the elderly matriarch moved forward; an aura of fury almost seeming to swell around her. “Madam Suoh,” the stunned debutante whispered, looking much like a rat caught in a trap.

“Young master Ootori was so kind as to warn me that you may just be after my inheritance as well as my Grandson’s name. Of course, I had to come to see for myself. I see that he is a man of honor and has done his best to assure my family doesn’t suffer embarrassment,” Shizue murmured as she got closer, stopped a few feet from the younger girl.

The members of the Host Club closed in together, watching silently as the intimidating elder and her chosen granddaughter in law stared at eachother. Devastated, the bronze haired lady lowered her head in shame as she began to shake. Tears flowed down pale cheeks as her delicate hands curled into fists. “To top it off, you have been threatening my Tamaki. While I do not approve of his mother, it is my decision to make whether or not he sees her; not yours,” the widowed woman pointed out, her voice holding a hard steel that made all the teens in the room shudder subconsciously. All, except Haruhi.

Just hearing the matriarch’s words made her teeth grit as indignation rose within her small body. This woman who dared called herself elite was really no better that the witch she was looking down on. Before she knew it, she was heading toward them; deaf to the shouts of her friends as her hands formed into tight balls by her sides. It was only when she was a couple feet away that Tamaki’s grandmother turned to acknowledge her, judgement clear in her stormy blue eyes. “You’re really no better than this young girl if you also threaten him with the person he loves most,” came out of her before she could stop it, making her heart stop cold in her chest. The silence that followed didn’t help, the powerful woman’s gaze feeling like it was burning her skin.

“You’re that girl who got in on scholarship aren’t you? You must be very brave to talk to me like that. I could have you removed from this school on a whim,” whispered her cruel voice, her gray-blue eyes spitting a fire that made Haruhi want to shake in her boots.

“Baasan... d-don’t threaten my little girl,” came a terrified demand, snapping the attention of the trio to Tamaki.

Without any of them noticing it, the young heir had made his way to stand beside Haruhi; his eyes holding a surprising amount of sternness. Blinking, the obviously bewildered elder could only stare blankly at her grandson. It was very likely she had never heard the timid teen talk to her like that in all his years living in her house. Not to mention the fact he had declared a female not much younger than him to be ‘his little girl.’ “As you wish Tamaki. Miss Tonnerre and I will take our leave now to discuss the dissolution of your engagement,” the kimono clad woman stated after a long stretch of silence, simply turning to head for the door and effectively dismissing the others.

Head hanging in shame, Éclair followed; stopped for a moment to shoot an icy glare toward the trio of Tamaki, Kyoya and Haruhi. “This is not over. Now that I know the secret about little Haruhi, I will make sure the rest of the school knows. Your precious Host Club may not end but I can at least take away one of your precious members,” she hissed, making sure her voice was low enough only the group of highschoolers could hear. Then she was going, storming out the door before Shizue could.

Pausing at the entry, the old fashioned woman gave a deep sigh before turning to look back at the teens behind her out of the corner of her eye. “Tamaki... you may make plans to visit your mother whenever you wish. If I keep you from her, I truly am no better than that deceiver,” whispered her cultured voice before her back turned and her silhouette went through the entry. As the door snicked shut behind her, the gathered group of friends could only stare at eachother as a faint thread of unease wove through the air. With three of the most important members graduating, it wasn’t as if the Club was going to be open after today. Still, knowing what Éclair was planning left a bitter taste in all their mouths. Despite the heavy blow they had dealt her, it still felt like she had won.

Looking at the sullen faces of her friends, Haruhi felt a slight wrench in her heart. While she didn’t really care if her gender was spread around the school, she cared about what it would do to her friends. In order to circumvent any damage, their best bet was to make an announcement before Éclair could. So, with a small cough to get attention, the wanna-be lawyer formed a plan with the boys she called family as well as friends. After a few minutes of hushed whispering, they had put together something that would work. They just had to hope the jilted frenchwoman wouldn’t have a chance to make any waves on her own.

One by one, students were called up to the stage; a certain group of near adults sticking extremely close together. The Host Club stood in a semi-circle around their brunette friend, Kyoya sticking especially close to the female. “I know how hard something like this must be for someone like you. I’ll be right there on the stage, as will everyone else,” rumbled a reassuring baritone, the faint smell of musk and sandalwood settling her more than the attempts made by her well-meaning friends. Smiling at the dark haired male pressed against her, she kissed his knuckles as she took a shaky breath.

“Fujioka, Haruhi!” called out an authoritative voice from the stage countless students had crossed before her. While she was not graduating for another year, she had been invited to give a speech to some of the students that were just there as friends. She was supposed to serve as an example of where hard work could get you. They were about to get a lot more than they ever asked for.

Fixing her earthy eyes to the front, the young woman squared her shoulders and walked forward; the skirt of her highschool uniform billowing just above her knees. Eyes fell on her as shocked whispers followed in her wake. Even the teacher that had been chosen to announce her looked shocked, his jaw hanging slightly open as he stared at her in disbelief. It was only the knowledge that Kyo and the other were close behind that gave her the will to continue. As she got closer, she saw the president and his mother standing behind and to the left of the educator who called for her. The old woman in particular looked almost proud for her, giving the teen all the courage she needed to set foot on the raised platform.

As soon as her flat shoes hit the oiled, polished wood of the stage, an unsettling silence fell over the crowd in the room. Keeping her breathing steady, the former heart throb of the Host Club stepped up to the podium and adjusted the microphone. “Students of Ouran High, my name is Haruhi Fujioka. While my hard work certainly got me here, I would have gone crazy without the support of my friends and our Club. The people I met and helped through this have also been amazing. I never meant to deceive any of you but I couldn’t risk being stopped from doing something I had come to enjoy,” came her dulcet tones, followed by more silence as she stepped back down.

Even though mere inches separated, it felt like several feet. All he wanted to do was run to her, to scoop her in his arms and protect her from the judgement to come. It took all his willpower to keep still, to allow her to do this on her own. Still, the quiet was agonizing; the teacher from earlier moving to take the mic once more as the students tried to absorb what had happened. Just before his palm could touch the sound device, applause filled the auditorium in such a sudden explosion that everyone on stage blushed slightly. It was so loud, in fact, that it was impossible to continue for several minutes.

While everyone was distracted, Kyoya was moving toward the podium; a determination clear in his stormy eyes. While nothing had gone as expected, he still had a plan of his own to carry out. So, with the swiftness of a ninja, he grabbed the mic and moved out of reach before anyone noticed. Therefore, when the applause ended, the poor teacher was dumbfounded to find the object wasn’t at all where he expected it to be. “Pardon me, I have my own announcement to make,” echoed a sure baritone, immediately drawing attention to the Ootori heir.

Making sure he had the attention of Haruhi, the young man moved to kneel before her; taking her left hand in his. Color flushed her young cheeks as her brown eyes widened. It seemed she knew what he was going to do but made no move to stop him, giving him the courage he needed to continue. “My dearest Haruhi, we may be young but I know I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you. I have never met a girl I have felt so comfortable with, that I can trust so implicitly. Will you marry me when school is over?” whispered the infamous ‘Shadow King’, his heartfelt words shocking the gathered students into silence once more.

For just a few seconds, Kyoya’s heart stuttered in his chest as she simply stared down at him silently. He came very close to thinking she was going to say ‘no’, his world closing in slightly as the quiet stretched on. Then she was giggling, her blush deepening as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. Before he could panic and get to his feet, she was giving the subtlest of nods. Everything screeched to halt, disbelief and just a little hope filling his chest. “Of course I’ll marry you Kyo,” whispered her sweet voice just as he was going to ask her to repeat herself. Next thing he knew, she was in his arms as the students once again broke into applause; the noise drowned out by the happiness nearly crushing his heart. He could only hold his beloved, tears of utter joy flowing down his cheeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long, very eventful few years. The Host Club had continued on, even with just Haruhi at the head of it. It turned out that no one really cared that she was a female, embracing the fact she still wore a suit by acting as if nothing had changed. Even most of the regulars to the Club hadn’t changed much, merely acting more like she was a girl than a boy. Rather than flirt with her, the girls would ask her advice or how to charm one of the new recruits that had been brought on to take over for graduated members. The only other mainstay had been Kyoya, doing the finances even after he had graduated.

On top of all of this, it hadn’t been long before Tamaki started resuming their own club activity. An idea all of them were hesitant to go forward with. In the real world, Host Clubs were something else entirely, being more like a brothel than the innocent fantasy room they had in highschool. Unfortunately, when they had tried to explain that to their over-enthusiastic leader; they were brushed off. “Don’t worry about all of that! We’ll be a different type of Host Club! We’ll lead a revolution that such places don’t have to be about hiring women or having sex!” the blonde had exclaimed before running off to start looking for an appropriate venue.

At the time, everyone just shrugged it off as something Tamaki would forget in time. Besides, everyone had their own things to do; especially Haruhi. Between school work, her own Host Club duties and preparing for college; the poor teen had more than enough on her plate. So she was taken quite off guard when Tamaki had pounced her one day after school, babbling about the perfect place. Then he was whisking her off, presenting her with a beautiful but rather run down mansion. A mansion he declared as their brand new Host Club Headquarters, causing a chill to run down her spine.

Within a week, they were all elbow deep in renovations. While Tamaki called it character building, everyone else simply called it idiotic; complaining while moving debris. Once again, the only exception was Haruhi and that had only been after Kyoya had intervened on her behalf. It hadn’t taken long for him to see the poor girl had taken on far too much when she agreed to help. Thankfully, the excitable blonde had been quick to acquiesce; not wanting to harm ‘his little girl.’ It wouldn’t be much longer before Haruhi would graduate, a day when their entire reality would turn on its head.

Somehow, after she had graduated, she had found herself enveloped in going to college to be a lawyer while actually being a pseudo-lawyer for the Host Club that was forming. To top all of that off, she was entangled in handing off all the functions of the High School version to a set group of successors so it would continue when she was gone. She was a very busy young lady to say the least, the acceptance to her college of choice almost going unnoticed in the rush. Thankfully, as soon as her freshman year started, things had smoothed out to a sort of rhythm.

Now she was twenty-four, looking back at all the chaos with a fond grin as she prepared to graduate from Law School with honors. It had taken a very long time to get to where she was now, looking around the large greeting room that filled her with nostalgia. At first, it had been just as bad as they had all feared. Police and citizens considered their establishment as nothing more than a brothel, only the seediest people showing up at first. Needless to say, the first few events had been flops. It had only been the combined efforts of all of them that had raised the reputation out of the mud, the charm of the men slowly winning everyone over.

Over the years, it had become everything she remembered and more; the events much more elaborate and grand due to the money flowing in. They also had many more people working in the club itself, both men and women. Renge herself was quite popular among the men her age. There were strict policies in place to keep the ages even to ensure comfort of visitor and host. The cherry on top was some of the younger officers had started to come in recently and had been seen thoroughly enjoying themselves, truly setting her mind at ease for the future. Giving a nod to Tamaki as she made her way upstairs, Haruhi headed straight to the room her fiance usually squirreled himself away in.

It had been a long seven years for Kyoya as well, just waiting for the day his lover would graduate. She had wanted to wait until she had graduated college to get married, something he both respected and loathed. The rational side of him loved the fact she wanted to be sure of her future before making any big steps. The emotional part of him just wanted her to be his already. Once they were married, he would finally, finally be able to refer to her as Mrs. Ootori. They would be able to actually plan their future together, a future where he owned his father’s company and she wanted for nothing. It was only a soft knock on the door that brought him back to the present, his eyes rising to look at the door. “Come,” he murmured, half hoping it was the woman he had just been thinking about.

As the door swung open, his Haruhi came in with a soft smile on her face. Her once short hair now flowed to her shoulders, bangs framing her chocolate colored eyes. Her shapely body was encased in a pantsuit the hugged her figure while still looking masculine, exactly something he expected her to wear. Getting to his feet, the youngest heir approached his fiance with open arms and a relieved expression. “Ah, Haru! How was school! Sit with me and I’ll have someone bring us some tea and a few sandwiches,” purred his deep voice as he ushered her forward with a hand at the small of her back.

“Last day was just a bunch of review but I got through it okay. The graduation will be in a few days,” sighed her tired voice as she sat down in a chair he had pulled up beside his, a soft sigh escaping her.

“Then I’ll finally have you to myself,” he sighed, his hand landing on cotton covered shoulders as he worked on getting the knots out of her muscle. The moan she let out in response went straight to his core and it took every ounce of willpower not to seduce her here and now.

Not only was she exhausted from her long day but they would still have guests for many hours yet. Now was not the right time for that, nor was it the right time to bring up the wedding. As much as it galled him, he resigned himself to just being patient. So, pushing the discussion to the back of his mind, he tended to his future wife’s needs. With the sound of laughter coming from downstairs, the pair were able to fade into their normal routine. All the while, Kyoya was counting the moments until her graduation.

It was a small, private ceremony. Only family and close friends were being allowed to attend. Thankfully, Haruhi had planned far in advance; getting her group of friends invites to come in. However, the spot of honor had been given to her dear Kyo. Kyo, the young man had endless amounts of patience. While she had pretended not to notice for his sake, she had been fully aware of his need to marry her. It just made her love him all the more that he had been willing to wait, not so much as bringing the subject up and just helping her get prepared.

Little did he know but the young woman was about to reward him for all his hard work. Her ceremony was going to be just a bit different, something the Dean had been fully behind. So, with a smile to the dark haired man to her right; Haruhi stepped into the school. Effortlessly, the brunette lead the way down the maze of halls with a familiarity only a student would have. Within moments, she led them to a pair of double doors that lead to a gymnasium. Pushing the leftmost door open, she relished the look of surprise that crossed her lover’s face when he saw what was in front of them.

Instead of just the Dean and Superintendent, there was also a preacher. The obvious holy man was dressed in the normal black suit, a bible in his hand and a kind smile on his young face. Just seeing the surprise and comprehension on Kyoya’s face made all the effort she had put into this worth it. Even the others behind her had been stunned into silence, Tamaki coming up first with a huge smile. “Does this mean what I think it does? Is my little girl going to...,” he began.

“What, pray tell do you mean by ‘my little girl’? Just what kind of perverse things have you been doing with my daughter Suoh!?” screeched a voice that sounded like a mixture of male and female, effectively stopping the young man mid-sentence.

Freezing in place as a shudder ran over his body, the former highschool heartthrob went pale as a blue aura practically appeared over his face. Snickering, Haruhi moved around the human cardboard cutout to wrap her arms around her father. To no one’s surprise, the odd male had dressed himself as ‘Ranka’; wearing a flowing, petal pink dress that came down to his ankles. “I’m glad you managed to get the day off! Have you seen the others?” asked the young woman anxiously, her eyes travelling the room. To the left of the room stood two men who looked oddly like Kyo and Tachibana.

“The father sent his man servant. Said he was busy. We are still expecting the last guest but after an unfortunate delay. Should only be a few minutes. We should at least have your graduation ceremony,” came a reply she expected but was disappointed by. After all she had done to maintain her grades as well as the club and her relationship, she had harbored a small hope that the Ootori patriarch would come to like her. Maybe even respect her.

Staring at the raised stage and its occupants, Kyoya tried to pull out of his shock enough to actually react. This was really happening. His woman had outmaneuvered him. She had prepared their wedding with very little fuss and so it coincided with her graduation. He couldn’t help but be impressed, stormy eyes landing on his brothers as well as the lead bodyguard. The only thing missing was his sister but he shrugged it off. With her living outside of the home, it was near impossible to find her.

Turning to look at his amazing fiance, he gave her a huge smile as he walked up to her and offered his tux covered arm. “Sorry father skipped out but almost everyone else made it. Allow me the honor of walking you up there for your graduation,” he offered, looking over at Ranka for permission. The red haired crossdresser turned to give an assessing glance, rubbing his chin as his red lips pursed. The sparkle in his otherwise serious eyes told the young man the dress wearing patriarch was merely teasing him, making just the slightest smile cross Kyo’s lips.

“I suppose you’ve proven yourself good enough to do at least that much,” his soon to be father in law quipped as his brothers closed in from behind.

“Thank Mr. Fujioka,” he whispered, shifting his gaze to Haruhi as she wrapped a hand around his upper arm. Then he was leading her forward, to both of their futures.

To no one’s surprise, the bright twenty-four year old had graduated with honors; getting a degree in law as well as a guaranteed job at one of the finest firms. With her certificate in hand, she had hopped off the stage so her friends could offer their congratulations and to give Fuyumi just a bit more time. There was also the fact she had to go make a quick change for the occasion, having hoped Kyo’s sister would be here to help her. Thankfully, it wasn’t much longer before said female was running through the door; a slightly embarrassed expression on her pretty face.

Immediately, her three siblings swarmed her; each offering to take something different for her. After she had been divested of her coat, hat and purse, the older female grabbed Haruhi by her arm and whisked her off; leaving the others behind in a stunned silence. Blinking, Tamaki turned to Kyoya with a raised eyebrow. “Did your sister just copy the Hitachiin twins and kidnap Haru-chan?” whispered the incredulous blonde.

“I think she just did,” responded Yuuichi for his brother, Kyoya still too busy staring at where they had gone to respond.

“Thanks so much for helping my with this Mrs. Shido,” Haruhi sighed as the much more experienced woman slipped a rather form fitting, white gown over her head.

“Oh please, just Fuyumi. You’re going to be my sister! I’m glad to help! I’ve never seen Kyo so... full of life until he decided he loved you. He’s liked you since you came into the Host Club I think, he just took forever to act on it,” the other woman gushed, giggling when she saw the shocked look on the young lawyer’s face.

“Wh-what? He always acted so professional around me. Well, until that one summer...,” whispered the brunette as the raven haired beauty straightened the shimmering gown.

It was a gorgeous, pearlescent white; the light striking it almost making it seem to have a rainbow sheen. The top of the dress was modest with long sleeves. The bottom half reached to the floor, the front open and decorated with large, loose ruffles with a silky fabric beneath to cover the opening. It looked rather feminine for someone with Haruhi’s personality, something the young woman was far too aware of. She would have been much more comfortable in a much more masculine guise but had acquiesced to the twins’ puppy eyes and pleas that she wear something from their clothing line. “I think I know the precise summer you’re talking about. He started acting more strange than usual after that,” came a teasing voice, distracting her from the discomfort of the finery she was wearing.

“I can only imagine...,” the brunette sighed as the other woman fiddled with her straight hair and began to apply make-up to her.

When she looked in the mirror, she barely recognized herself. Was that the same Haruhi? The almost womanly person looking at her? The pin straight hair was now feathered around her face, accentuating her more feminine features. Blush accentuated her cheekbones, a light dusting of dark eye shadow brought out her normally dark eyes and her normally plain lips were now an inviting pink. Instead of the mask she had feared, her inner beauty had been brought out; leaving her a bit breathless. “Fuyumi...” she whispered, something tightening in her chest as tears filled her eyes.

“Don’t cry! You’ll ruin your make-up!” came a playfully panicked response from her soon to be sister in law, drawing a smile as the tears slowly faded.

“Nonsense! You were beautiful far before I got my hands on you! Now let’s go show you to my brother,” the dark haired femme gushed, giving the younger woman a wink before offering her arm.

As soon as the girl had disappeared, the entirety of the Host Club as well as his brothers and Ranka practically pounced on him; asking him just what his sister was doing. Using every ounce of his patience, Kyoya took in a deep breath and calmly yelled for quiet. “I had no idea Fuyumi was even coming. How can you expect me to know what’s she’s doing to Haruhi?” he asked, feeling more than a little nervous himself. In all his years, he had never seen such a sparkle in his sister’s eyes.

“Nevermind any of that! Let’s get you all set up for becoming my son!” came a feminized male voice to his right just before he was grabbed by his arms and practically carried onto the stage.

Sighing, the young man brushed off the tux he wore; silently thanking Tachibana for insisting on the overly formal attire. In retrospect, it made a lot of sense and he made a mental note to thank the bodyguard later. Right now, he found himself answering a round of rapid fire questions from Ranka. By the time it was over, Tamaki ended up as his best man while Honey ended up as a Maid of Honor. Renge and Kaoru took spots as Bridesmaids while Hikaru and Mori took spots as groomsmen.

It was only when he looked at the earnest faces of some of his best friends that he realized this was really happening, that he was was really about to get married to the woman he loved. Needless to say, when a door opened near the back; the twenty-five year old nearly jumped out of his skin. Turning his head to look at the source of the noise, he felt all the breath get sucked out of him as his vision zeroed in on his bride. She looked like a goddess, the veil covering her face driving him crazy as she took her crossdressing father’s offered arm.

Just one look at the gown told him it was from the Hitachiin’s, prompting him to write another mental note to thank them as well. The shimmering material clung to her figure in a way that made his mouth water and his heart race as she got closer. He had never seen her look anything like this and he found himself vaguely wondering if it really was his Haruhi as the woman stepped onto the stage. In a few steps, she was in front of him and he found himself almost afraid to lift the gaze that shielded her from his gaze. If this was some cruel joke on his sister’s part, he didn’t think he could ever forgive her.

After a few moments, a deep breath and some determination, Kyoya Ootori lifted the veil to see the gorgeous face of his intended. Allowing his eyes to roam her make-up while the priest began the ceremony, the youngest heir found himself bothered by something. The products she wore heightened her inner beauty but she had been much prettier without them. It was almost as if a fine veneer had covered the tomboyish girl he had fallen in love with, transforming her into a more feminine version that didn’t quite fit. There was also the fact that, despite the smile on her face, Haruhi had a look of unease deep within her brown eyes; as if she was begging him to see past the mask on her face.

Leaning forward to brush her cheek with his lips, he decided to do what he could to let her know he heard her loud and clear. “You look enchanting but if you are uncomfortable dressed like that, we can put it off until we have attire you feel better in,” he whispered in her ear before pulling back to the proper distance. To his surprise, she gave a subtle shake of her head just before the priest started the ceremony. Needless to say, things went off without a hitch; their lips meeting at the end to raucous applause.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the Honeymoon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been months before they could tear themselves away from their respective duties to have their honeymoon. Long, arduous months where Kyoya could swear he could feel himself slowly losing his mind. The reception had been great and the entire Club had pulled together weeks ago to give them a faux honeymoon but it wasn’t the same. He needed time alone with his new wife; to bond, to show her just how much he loved her and to finally have sex. Due to his own morality, they hadn’t had intercourse well before the wedding. An edict he had held to strictly, wanting to cherish his honeymoon.

Now, three months into their marriage, the young man found himself cursing his own pride bitterly. He felt like a volcano about to explode, each touch from her in the seat next to his driving him wild. The fact he had chartered a private flight didn’t help matters, the temptation to take her into the back and join the mile high club an extremely strong one. While the newly appointed Mrs. Ootori was far from a virgin, he wanted their wedding to be different. He saw this marriage as a wiping of the slate, a new start of sorts. One he was determined to do right.

Haruhi, on the other hand, found herself quite content. She had noticed the lack of intimacy but had simply chalked it up to how busy they had both been. Now that they were on their way to a private resort in the Bahamas, she found herself content with the fact they were finally alone. Nuzzling up against her husband’s side, the young lawyer felt herself relax for the first time in a long time. “You know, I think I understand what the big deal is with honeymoons now,” she whispered, giving him a lingering kiss on the cheek before nestling into his chest.

Feeling him flinch, the young woman looked up at her husband; something clicking in her brain as she took in just how tense he seemed. While she didn’t necessarily need intimacy, maybe Kyoya needed it more than her. While she had certainly missed the closeness as well as pleasure of sex, maybe the man next to her had been longing for it? Brow crinkling slightly, the normally reserved female began to plan to seduce her husband as soon as they landed. With the way his muscles were twitching under her, he needed a release sooner rather than later. She was oblivious to the fact he was planning on doing the same to her.

After a few more hours, they were landing; Haruhi being the first out of the plane. This was the first time she had been anywhere outside of Japan and the excitement had overtaken any need for dignity. As soon as the warm sunlight hit her face, she found herself closing her eyes and raising her face skyward as a warm breeze whipped through her brown locks, fluttering the silky hair around her shoulders and slightly into her face. It smelled of the salt and the ocean as well as sun warmed trees. Parrots and various tropical birds let out cries that sounded almost musical to her, making her heart soar. Turning to smile at Kyo, she felt the breath leave her at the expression on his face.

He almost looked like a starving predator staring at a fat, injured antelope dancing across its path. His normally gray eyes now had a deep violet tinge to them, his toned chest heaving as his jaw tensed. His nostrils were flared as well, as if he was trying to capture her scent from his position. Gradually, ever so gradually he made his way down the ramp of the plane; his dilated eyes fixed on her as he closed the distance. “I see I made the right decision to have us land on the beach airstrip. I had a feeling you would want to take in the area around us as we walk to our summer mansion,” rumbled his sonorous voice, his hands landing on her shoulders as servants scrambled behind them to unload their luggage.

As his body heat pressed against her back and his sure hands steered her forward into a natural tunnel made by the palm trees looming over the footpath, she almost found herself more focused on him than the area around her. The birds continued to sing cheerfully as they moved; as if welcoming them to the island and drawing her back to the beauty surround her. Allowing herself to take in the various scents around her, Haruhi found herself nearly giddy from her inner excitement. She had never been any place that had air as pure as this. She could literally smell the fruits ripening in the trees. Yet, under the floral scent of the forest, there was a musk that made her lower body ache almost instinctually. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, something about it calling to a part of her that was well buried. A part Kyoya had stirred that first summer together. A more primal part that almost seemed to be calling her to do... something.

It was slow torture, being as close to her as he was while being unable to touch her silky skin. To smell the subtle changes of her scent but being unable to explore or act on them, it was enough to drive any lesser man mad. As it was, he was having a hard fight not to press her against a tree and just take her. The servants had taken a separate road and had likely reached the mansion by now, leaving them entirely alone. He doubted she would protest, if the way she had clung to him on the plane had been any indication.

Only his extreme willpower saved his wife from a pleasurable savaging against a palm tree. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from at least leaning forward to taste her skin; licking her neck all too briefly. When she shuddered in response, it was nearly his undoing and he had to pull back from her just a little to gather himself. This action wasn’t lost on the female in front of him, her head turning slightly so she could look back at him. As her brown eyes roved over his suit covered body, her lips parted and a blush colored her cheeks. For just a few seconds, he had the strangest notion that she was teasing him. Shaking it off, he watched as she continued to move forward. It was at that moment he realized she was moving her hips in a rather exaggerated manner and he knew for sure she was teasing him.

Watching the shadows as they danced across the oiled dirt path they walked on, Haruhi had to bite her lip to keep from even smiling as she felt embarrassment heat her cheeks. Even before they had gotten married, she had never been this bold with Kyo. She could practically hear a tea kettle sound coming from the slightly older male as he kept a purposeful distance between them. If she had been a different woman, she would have misunderstood what he was doing as lack of desire.

She had been around the man for years, more than long enough to know how his mind worked. The reason why he hadn’t thrown her over a broad shoulder and ran off into the wilderness to have his way with her was that he wanted to wait until he had her inside. Knowing his way of thinking, she could safely assume her husband saw this as a new start to their life together. One he seemed determined to do right. Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t make his job just a bit harder; feeling a light feeling in her chest as she continued to sway her hips. She almost felt playful, looking up to see the front of the mansion coming close far too quickly.

Within moments, they would be inside and her little game would end; leaving her with an all too eager, young millionaire. She would have to act quickly if she was going to put her plan into place. Unfortunately, she didn’t have nearly enough time to think; the twin doors creaking open in front of her. Before she could take a step inside, she found herself swept up into a pair of strong, familiar arms. Looking up instinctually, the young lawyer gasped when she saw his eyes were now a deep purple, a muscle in his jaw ticking slightly as he gently cradled her in a bridal carry. “As your husband, allow me to carry you across the threshold,” rasped his deep voice, vibrating through her entire body and making her womanhood burn with desire.

Then he was moving forward, the cool air of the huge house hitting her like a soft breeze. Then she was set on her feet, Kyo moving off to summon some servants while she took in the entry room of the mansion. It was at least big enough to fit two full size cars inside, the ceiling high and vaulted with sculpted, marble pillars seemingly holding it up. In the center of the room was an expansive staircase, two sets leading up either side in a lazy curve. Rich, red carpet coated said steps, which also appeared to be marble. Just looking at this room alone made her feel rather small and intimidated. This was the world she had stepped into when she agreed to be Kyoya’s girlfriend all those years ago and only now did she find herself feeling inadequate.

“Haru-chaaaan!” came a musical, young man’s voice from her left, effectively breaking her of her trance as she was immediately tackled by a tall male with honey blonde hair.

“Oof! H-honey-sempai?” gasped the shocked twenty-four year old, looking up at her former classmate. Soon after he had hit eighteen, the infamous ‘boy lolita’ had a growth spurt; shooting up to an impressive 6’ 8”. Now, instead of being the cute one, he found himself in the unfamiliar and rather intimidating position of heart throb.

Thankfully, the rather heavy man was soon lifted off her by his cousin; the stoic male giving her a very small smile. “Hello Mrs. Ootori,” Mori murmured, his deep voice as quiet and gentle as ever. Then he was setting his companion on his feet before bending to offer her a hand.

“Thank you Mori-sempai,” she whispered out of simple habit, finding it hard to just refer to him as Mori even after all these years. Then she was taking his hand, getting to her feet just in time to nearly get knocked off them again by the twins.

To top it off, she saw the leader of their current ‘club’ and her adoptive ‘father’; Tamaki Suoh. As per usual, the blonde was full of energy; his smile practically brightening the room as he rushed her. Within seconds, the half french male was taking her into a bear hug; the sound of Kyo’s soft chuckling only punctuating the oddness of the situation. “Did you really think we’d get away with a month to ourselves Haru? Besides, this place can feel so much bigger without a lot of people. I thought you’d get...,” came the beginnings of an explanation before she was tearing herself free of her friends.

One moment, Kyoya was telling his wife just why their rather annoying family had followed them. The next he found himself flat on his back, the cool tile pressing against his back as his wife tried her best to squeeze the life out of him. Given the harsh sobs coming out of her, the youngest heir found it hard to discern if his beloved was overjoyed or extremely angry. Reaching for her back with shaking hands, the dark haired man found his internal conflict solved when her lips crashed into his hungrily.

There was nothing but love and elation in her embrace, the fervor of it causing all his repressed lust to rush to the surface at once. Before he knew it, their positions were reversed with him now on top and his thigh parting her legs. Panting heavily as he ground his teeth together to regain his composure, he became very aware of the fact they still had company. Looking up at his former underclassmen through his inky, disheveled bangs, Kyoya felt some measure of relief to see they had move off into other parts of the mansion; probably dragging Tamaki along kicking and screaming in the process.

Chuffing slightly in amusement, the twenty-five year old looked down at the prize under him. She was panting lightly, her pupils blown as she reached up to touch his right cheek with an unsteady hand. Groaning, he leaned down to taste her swollen, pink lips; breathing deep her honeyed scent as he allowed his tongue to delve into her mouth. The kiss lasted both too long as well as not long enough, Kyoya pulling back with a growl that reverberated through his entire body. He had intended to wait until after dinner but found himself unable to withstand the torment any longer.

The scent of fresh rain and musk filled her senses as he pressed her against the floor. She was so dazed that when his lips had met hers she had forgotten about their potential audience as well as her plan to seduce her lover. After that, things happened very quickly. In a blur of motion she found herself up in a pair of arms just before the person holding her was running. Before she could comprehend where they were going, a door was practically kicked open and she was placed on an impossibly soft bed.

Then his warmth was suddenly gone, the tense male moving off to lock the door before turning to give her a look full of burning lust. “Now then, Mrs. Ootori, don’t think I didn’t notice how you played with me since we’ve gotten here,” husked a voice much deeper than his normal, coming close to making him sound like a complete stranger. Then he was moving forward, loosening his tie as a low rumble began to emanate from deep inside his chest. Deep purple eyes stayed locked on her form as his tongue licked lazily over his lower lip, deft hands slowly slipping the tie free from his neck. Then he was shrugging off his thick coat, seeming to smirk when Haruhi sat up to pay attention.

He could smell the shock and arousal rolling off his companion in waves, only driving the more animalistic side of him to come to the surface. It had been far too long since he had scented her need, tasted her skin, allowed her silken heat to envelope him. As images began to flash through his mind, he found himself getting more and more lost in the fog of lust. It was only his herculean self control that kept him grounded, even as his beloved let out a little gasp when his nimble fingers began to unbutton just the top button of the silk shirt he wore.

Collar bones, they seem innocuous enough in normal company. In fact, most people could probably agree they were one of the least sexual parts of a human body. Yet, sitting on what would be their wedding bed and staring up at her husband, she found herself intensely aroused at the sight of them. In fact, her entire focus had shifted to those small nodules just under his chin; the motions of his hands fading into the background. Next thing she knew, her palms were on his muscled chest while her tongue mapped out the dips and ridges of the bony protrusions.

As she did this, she could feel the muscles in his pectorals twitching; a musky scent flooding her senses as the sound of fabric sliding against skin coming from above her. Then bare arms were wrapping around her, holding her lightly as a mouth pressed against her right temple. “Haru,” sighed a gruff baritone as a gentle weight pushed her backwards until she was forced to pull away from his clavicle. Back meeting soft sheets, the young lawyer locked eyes with her husband; gasping at the deep purple orbs that burned into her soul. Before she could so much as say his name, a hot mouth covered hers just before an insistent tongue probed her lips for entry.

Everything she was overtook his senses, coming close to driving him into a feral state as his left thigh parted her legs. As his tongue swept into her mouth, her taste exploded on his tastebuds; drawing a low rumble from deep inside his chest. As much as he had wanted to take his time to do this properly, her soft, kitten like mewls of need chipped away at the last of his restraints. It was only with great effort that he was able to pull away from the brown haired enchantress, his chest heaving as he tried to regain some semblance of his control.

Unfortunately, the minx below him had other ideas; reaching up to unbutton his pants. Just the faintest brush of her fingertips against his erection under the tight denim was enough to stop his breath in his chest. Everything in him focused on what she was doing, the sound of the zipper going down seeming impossibly loud in the empty room. As the air hit his heated flesh, a gruff gasp was ripped from him before a warm hand enveloped him. “Ah, H-haru...,” gusted out of him, his voice a throaty croak as his normally well groomed hair fell into his face.

The feeling of his muscles twitching under her hands gave her a feeling of empowerment as her dark eyes roamed down his taut body to and on his erect penis. The uncircumcised head was an angry purple, a clearish white fluid dribbling out of the slit as it seemed to almost point at her like a dowsing rod. As she wrapped a hand around the iron hard flesh and began to move, the gorgeous shirt she had chosen to wear was ripped open with a thick purring noise. Silence followed, her husband staring down at her as he took in the fact she was completely bared to his gaze.

All breathing, all higher brain function simply stopped as his eyes glued themselves to his woman’s perfect nipples. Some voice in the back of his mind whispered she had been without a bra for most of the day. Then he was lost, his body moving without thinking to take one of the pink sweets into his hot mouth. He only came back to himself when he felt a hand tangle in his ebony hair, a sigh leaving his beloved’s lips. It was then he knew things had come too far to stop and he murmured an apology into her breast before suckling in earnest. The sounds she released in response were like breath to his lungs, only driving him further in his efforts.

Without either of them realizing it, his hands had unfastened her pants before removing them as well as his own. It was only when his eager manhood met her slick nethers that he realized what happened. Pulling away from the heaving breast he had been latched onto, Kyo cupped his wife’s face before apologizing profusely; resting his forehead on her as he allowed himself to slide up and down along her slit. “I wish I could take the time to seduce you properly but...,” husked his unsteady voice, only stopping when she tilted her chin the meet his lips with hers.

“I need you too Kyo. I didn’t know how much until today,” whispered a shy voice that brought him back to the past with a sharp yank, filling him with intense nostalgia as well as lust.

She only had a few seconds to stare up at the other half of her soul, finding some fascination in the fact the normally stoic male seemed almost out of control. She had never seen him so intense, not in a very long time and she found herself wondering what she could do to test just how close to the edge he was. Before she could put any plans into motion, he was pulling back and entering her with one, swift movement. The suddenness of the intrusion took her breath away, her body lingering on that uncomfortable line between pleasure and pain.

Whispered words of apology came once again, lips pressing gently to her forehead before trailing down her cheek to the pulse pounding in her neck. Arms coming up to wrap around the back of Kyoya’s neck, she quietly told him it was okay; rolling her head slightly to meet his lips lightly with her own. This seemed to relax the tense heir, his body molding over hers as strong arms wrapped around her body. Then he was moving, each stroke of him inside her seeming to be like a flawless symphony.

It felt like coming home, the twenty-five year old having to grit his teeth hard just to keep from cumming the instant he was inside her. When he began moving, it was all he could do to keep his stroke purposeful and gentle. He wanted to ravish her, bite her supple flesh, pound into her until she yowled his name throughout the building. He wanted everyone to know just who this perfect woman belonged to and that he wasn’t willing to share. Thankfully his more rational side prevailed, keeping his nips soft as his hips moved and swiveled.

Wanton gasps and whispers of his name filled his world as he felt her blunt nails scrabbling at his back for purchase. Then something came through the fog of his lust, his movements stuttering as he tried to make sense of what Haruhi was trying to tell him. “K-kyo... pleeeeeasse! H-harder!” came out of her only with a great amount of effort, making a thin veil of red drop over his vision briefly. Every muscle began to shake with anticipation, his breath coming in quick gasps as his eyes locked with hers to confirm he had heard correctly.

Every nerve felt like it was on fire, sounds she had never made before leaving her mouth as her husband continued to thrust. Yet, despite how good it felt, it wasn’t enough. She wanted more, her mouth expressing this before she had realized it. As her eyes met his, she knew she had meant every word. So she decided to let her body take over for her brain, raising herself up to give him a heated kiss as her legs wrapped around his waist.

This seemed to flip a switch in the ‘Shadow King’, a low, animalistic sound coming from somewhere deep within him. Then he was moving hard and fast, his hips jerking into hers in a motion that came dangerously close to painful. “Hold onto me and scream as much as you like,” rasped an almost foreign voice just before the beast inside her husband took over completely. He was like a person possessed, gruff snarls ripping from him as he gave her neck a few bites. It was almost like he was trying to claim her body as well as her soul and, despite her slight discomfort, she could only call for more.

He was lost, lost to sensation and the sound of her calling for him to go, harder, faster. Her walls fluttered and squeezed him as she got closer and closer to orgasm. Gripping her hips hard, he slammed hard into her as she screamed in pleasure; the nails raking welts down his back just enough to tip him over his own edge. “Haru... my Haru...,” he gasped, rolling to hold her in his arms rather than collapse ontop of her and squash her.

“M-my Kyo,” panted the exhausted femme in response, her shaking arms wrapping around his lower back as a wet kiss pressed to his neck. Smiling slightly, he began to drift off; the brief realization he had forgotten protection crossing his mind before blackness took over.

For no reason at all, Haruhi found herself feeling extremely nauseous when she woke up. Even just opening her eyes was enough to make her normally cast iron stomach turn, a sickening cold sweat breaking over her body. Fighting off the urge to vomit, the young woman ran through what she could have eaten to cause this. She had felt fine just last night as well as the day before. There was no reason why she should feel so awful.

Licking her dry lips while her stomach tied itself in knots, the young lawyer turned her head to the left to look at Kyoya. To her relief, his side of the bed was empty. A good thing too because she found herself having to run into the bathroom to vomit up the very nice tuna sushi she had consumed last night. The only reason that didn’t cross her mind as a cause was the fact that it had been prepared by Kyoya’s own personal chef. The man had to know how to make fish. Unfortunately, this left her with nothing that could explain the sudden, violent illness. All she could really do was hope it would pass.

So, once she was done, she flushed the toilet before getting ready for the day and heading downstairs to visit with her would be family as well as see just what her husband was doing. If she had her way, he would never find out about the strange ailment. It was more than likely something that would just pass on its own. Besides, she was still enjoying the honeymoon they were on and they had so much longer left to stay here. She really didn’t want to take the chance on anything making them leave.

Tamaki had been rambling on about how well the club had been doing while he went through the finances for the Ootori businesses. While he still wasn’t confirmed for taking Yuuichi’s place as heir to the family name, his father was trusting him with more and more management responsibilities. Something the old man hadn’t allowed either of his older brothers. While most would see this as a small step, the youngest Ootori saw it as a guarantee he was going to get what he wanted. After all, he hardly ever failed in doing so before. “And just think of how the customers will gush when you bring in your children,” came an unthinking declaration from his dear friend, making his heart stop in his chest.

Children... He hadn’t even thought of such a thing with Haruhi. Given last night, it was likely to become a possibility a lot sooner than he was ready for. “Yeah Vice President. What’re ya gonna do when your lil daughter starts to flirt with some of the regulars,” hummed the mischievous voice of Hikaru in his right ear.

“Yeah, not to mention when our little Haruhi actually gets pregnant,” chuckled the voice of Kaoru in the other ear, rage and fear flaring up inside him as he shooed the troublesome twins away.

Still, their words rang in his ears and he found images flashing through his mind unbidden. Images of his wife rounded with their first child. Images of her in labor, screaming in pain as their baby made its way into the world. Images of his daughter being cuddled by their loyal members and eventually meeting a love of her own. For some reason, all he could feel was a deep dread. “If she gets pregnant, we will decide what to do then,” he snarled, sounding a bit more gruff than he meant to. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a child, far from it. He just wasn’t so sure he was ready to see someone he loved so dearly go through such hardships.

Blinking, Haruhi stared down at her flat stomach from her position just outside the door. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, not really. She had just wanted to find out where her husband was so she could ask him if he had eaten breakfast yet. Now she found herself thinking of an entirely different reason for her earlier illness, a hand landing just above where her womb was. A soft smile blossomed on her face, despite Kyoya’s angry tone ringing in her ears. She didn’t take what he said to heart, knowing it was more than likely worry for her rather than lack of desire for a child. She had seen how he interacted with some of the kids brought into the host club.

While having the outward appearance of someone rather stern and down to business, the young man had a huge soft spot for kids. He went out of his way to make sure they were taken care of, even ensuring that they wouldn’t cry when upset or injured. He was always much more patient with the kids, sometimes getting the oddest look of longing on his handsome face when he put a young one on his shoulders to distract them. It was fairly obvious to her that he would care very deeply for their own child. Still, she found herself with her own decision to make. Did she want to keep this baby in the first place?

There was no question of when she would tell Kyoya. She wasn’t the type of person to hide such an important development from her husband, let alone try to make a decision about their child alone. Still, she didn’t want to make what would happen even more awkward by bringing it up in front of their odd family. No, she needed to get her husband aside to tell him the state of affairs in private. She could only hope he wouldn’t see fit to cancel their honeymoon just because of this little hiccup. She had been looking forward to the time off and they still had another month out here. Besides, this place was equipped with the best doctors just in case an emergency happened. That meant prenatal medication was more than feasible to obtain should they decide to proceed with the pregnancy.

Even if they decided to get rid of it, they could still perform the procedure by the time they got back to Japan. Whatever happened, she needed to tell him sooner rather than later. So, with a deep breath to steady her nerves, Haruhi went into the huge living room to try to get her husband away for just a few minutes. She just hoped the others would be willing to just play along. “Hey Kyo! Want to have breakfast together?’ she chirped as soon as one of the doors opened.

The instant the words left her mouth, Kyoya knew the brunette didn’t just want breakfast. Before his brain had even fully engaged on giving a response, he was on his feet; a hand behind the small of her back as he walked her back out of the room. The heated protests of Tamaki as well as the twins landed on deaf ears, only the efforts of Honey and his cousin keeping the trio from following. Oblivious to the drama left behind, the concerned entrepreneur began to fire off questions at his wife. He could see by her pallor and the way she seemed to shift her eyes away from him that something was desperately wrong. “I think I might be pregnant,” came a whisper so quiet he almost thought he had misheard her.

Still, this didn’t feel like a discussion they should be having in the hallway. So, with his heart pounding in his ears, the ‘Ice Prince’ led his princess to the kitchen; pulling out a chair at the table for her before taking his own seat. “Now, what did you say before?” he asked, his voice sounding far too calm for the apprehension slowly building inside him.

“I think I might be pregnant,” the female across from him repeated, causing his heart to stop in his chest as reality seemed to pull away from him.

‘Pregnant’. The word echoed in his head like a shout down a deserted hallway, the colors slowly draining out of reality as he focused on the two syllable utterance. Given what had just happened in to living room earlier, Kyoya would have found the whole situation extremely ironic if he wasn’t so close to losing consciousness. Unaware of his own, ragged breathing as he rested his clammy head in both palms, the shaking heir found himself going back to one of his most horrifying imaginings. The image of his Haruhi on her back in some cold, clinical hospital room. Screaming in pain while tears streamed down her porcelain colored cheeks as she did her best to push their child into the world.

Except, something goes wrong. One of the doctors is yelling about ‘too much blood’ while several people scramble for equipment. His beloved is clinging to him like a lifeline, tears in her brown eyes as she begs him to save their baby. He was so far gone, he could smell the blood and birthing fluids in the imagined scene. Yet, under the screams in his mind, he could also hear his name being called. It was so muffled it almost sounded like it was coming from underwater and was easily ignored. It was only a hard slap to his face that brought him back to reality.

Looking down at the dilated eyes of her husband, Haruhi was stunned by her own actions. Still, it had been the only thing she could think to do. She had never seen Kyoya Ootori look so frightened of everything. It almost seemed as if he had gone entirely into his own head, not responding to her and scaring her badly. Before she had noticed it, she had hit him. While it had brought him back, she found herself staring at her own hand as if it was a monster. “Thanks Haru... I’m sorry for how I reacted... I... What makes you say you may be pregnant,” whispered a voice from below her, a hand reaching up to grasp the one she was glaring at.

Jolting out of herself, the overwrought lawyer looked at her husband; finding herself in the odd position of having to be protective. After so many years with the host club, the normally independant woman had gotten disturbingly used to being taken care of. Swallowing the leftovers of her nervousness, Haruhi gave her other half a comforting smile before scooting her chair closer to him and taking a seat. “I got really sick this morning for no reason. On top of that, its been a week since we had our first unprotected encounter. While we have had many more, I know enough from biology class to pinpoint which it was that caused it,” she pointed out, feeling disgusted with herself for becoming so dependant on others.

As he looked at the femme to his left, Kyoya could feel a subtle shift in her energy. Looking into her eyes as he processed what she had told him, the twenty-five year old saw a myriad of emotions. Some of them rather disturbing. “I see. I suppose we should go down to the on site doctor and have you checked out. It could be a week until the results come back. For now, I want you to listen to me,” he growled, turning so he was facing her before taking her face into his hands.

“If you are pregnant, I will not force you to do anything with the child. If you wish to keep it, I can accommodate that. If you wish to get rid of it, I will accommodate that as well. I just... I know what labor is like. I have been to my father’s hospital many times, seen birth many times. The idea of you in that much pain, possibly in danger...,” he whispered, starting out intense at first but petering off as he leaned into the woman he loved.

Haruhi could only hold him, nibbling her bottom lip as she weighed out her two current problems. Of course the most important matter was this pregnancy. Her revelation about her loss of independence could be dealt with later, if at all. The longer she looked at it, the more she didn’t see seeking comfort or protection from others as a bad thing. Besides, it couldn’t possibly ruin her career while a pregnancy certainly could. As much as she wanted children someday, she really was just starting to gain her name for herself in the world of law. Not to mention the fact Kyo was still trying to gain his own ground in becoming sole heir to his family’s businesses and fortune. Having a baby right now would only complicate matters. Still, could she really just kill something she had made with a man she loved as much as her husband? It was a lot to think about and she couldn’t help but feel slightly sick all over again.

Needless to say, not a word was breathed to the others. Like two thieves in the night, the couple had gone to the doctor to get the tests done, both insisting on a blood as well as urine test. It had been a tense seven days from that point on, the two love birds barely talking to eachother as the week wore on. They had gone from being talkative and loving to almost cold, both of them sitting a considerable distance from eachother. None of this was lost on their small family but the four men were completely lost about what they should do about it.

So far none of them had been able to find out just what had caused the rift in the first place, only further serving to concern the small group. Tamaki was especially upset, not liking to see two people so important to him fighting like this. At least he assumed it was a fight, given the icy aura both of them had as well as the fact they barely looked eachother in the eye. So he decided to conspire with the others to do something to make they pair stop fighting. It was just his timing that happened to be unfortunate.

Oblivious to the movements of the blonde and their fellow club members, Kyoya and Haruhi had moved off towards the on site doctor. Unbeknownst to their friends, anger was the furthest thing from the pair’s minds. No, they were both utterly terrified and for entirely different reasons. As such, they had been unable to approach eachother; each not wanting to add burdens onto the other. Still, as they stood in front of the imposing metal door that led to the doctor, the pair reached for eachother’s hands before going in.

“Oh and be sure to bake plenty of cakes! Haruhi loves them,” Tamaki chirped, his men bustling like busy ants to set up the ‘party’. They were just about done when a clearing throat made the entire group freeze in place. Turning, they saw a rather tearstained Haruhi clinging to their vice president as if he were the only anchor she had.

“We’re pregnant,” he announced, the small female hiding in his chest shuddering as she hiccuped softly.

Immediately, the entire group surrounded them; thousands of questions filling the air. Most them were inquiries why their Haruhi was sobbing like her heart had been broken. “I... I want to keep the baby,” came the shy, almost hesitant response; only confusing the quartet even more.

“B-but Haruhi shouldn’t you be happy?” Honey whispered, tears edging his blue eyes as he knelt before one of his closest friends. It was then the crying really started, relief filling the small woman as her friends enveloped her and whispered words of encouragement.

Once again, she had only seen this as something she would have to deal with by herself. She didn’t take the support of her friends and biological family into account. She would be able to work until she was close to giving birth and after she would have a lot of people willing to help with care for the child. She wouldn’t have to give up her job if she really didn’t want to, a revelation that only increased her sobs as she clung onto the men that made up her life.

Smiling as she stared down at the dome of her tummy, Haruhi found herself chuckling as she remembered the months that had lead up to this point. Both Kyo and Tamaki had been extremely against the idea of her working at all during her pregnancy, let alone as close to birth as she had. It was only at her husband’s insistence that she had stopped at all. Even Yuuichi’s constant assurances she would be fine were no help, to her amusement as well as exasperation. Still, as she felt a contraction roll through her, she had to admit she probably would have kept going until labor if given the chance.

At least she had been given the choice to have their child at home instead of a hospital. Akito had even insisted on being the attending physician simply because Yuuichi had other responsibilities as hospital director. Fuyumi was going to be midwife, having had plenty of experience with her own practice. The fact that all of the Ootoris were doctors or were in some way related to the medical profession still amused her.

Huffing softly through her nose as the pain slowly ebbed, the young lawyer began to rub where her baby rested. A lot had happened in these short months besides deciding where and who to deliver the child. Not too long after the announcement had been made to his family, Kyo’s own father had his own announcement to make. He appointed his last born as head of the house as well as new owner of all the Ootori businesses, stunning the entire family. With the exception of the arrogant ‘Shadow King’ himself. He had accepted the appointment with his typical arrogance, the smirk on his face telling everyone in the room he had expected no less.

To top that off, she had a partnership waiting for her when this was all over. Only thing was, she now found herself having second thoughts about just how much time she wanted to take off after the birth. Her own mother had been gone for a lot of her childhood, dying while she was still so young. She was unsure if she wanted the same fate for her own daughter. While there would be no shortage of love or attention, she knew as well as anyone that your mother’s presence was entirely different. As another contraction washed over her, she knew her time to make such a decision was quickly running out.

Dim light bounced off book covered walls as a disheveled silhouette hunched over figure covered pages. The smell of ancient paper fills this huge room, a scent the occupant had once found comforting. Now it seems to mock him, the sound of pages rubbing together almost seeming to sound like accusatory whispers. The most prominent murmur being that of a single name, ‘Haruhi’. Looking up from the ledger with bloodshot eyes, Kyoya ran a shaking hand down his pale, unshaven visage. “I should be up there with her. What if she’s in labor? What if she’s calling for me and I can’t hear?” hissed his voice, so gruff it sounded more like a frog croaking.

As soon as he said it, he knew the notion was absurd. Not only had he left Tachibana stationed outside her room but the entire host club had positioned themselves there as well. It would be impossible for something to happen without his knowledge. Still, none of this helped him feel easy and he was out of his chair before another thought crossed his mind. With the need to see his wife an insistent buzz in the back of his head, Kyoya moved faster than he could ever remember; reaching the door to their room within moments.

Tachibana was the first to greet him, a kind smile on his aged face as he bowed to his long time master. “We have heard nothing from the young miss and none of these lot have been allowed to disturb her,” the older bodyguard informed, his dark eyes glittering as he straightened.

“Yeah! That’s right! We haven’t seen Haruhi at all today and she’s usually up by now! I just wanted to see if my little girl was alright!” Tamaki spat, arching like an angry act as he shot to his feet. The others that had been sitting with him could only look up at him with astonishment at his boldness.

“Thank you for your efforts Tachibana. I will go in and see the mistress now. Be sure Akito and Fuyumi are on standby,” came the shockingly cool response, Kyoya’s pale face utterly devoid of emotion as he shoved his glasses up on his nose with his middle finger. Then he was going into the room, completely ignoring the outburst of his best friend.

As soon as he was in the room, he could smell something that wasn’t quite right. It was Haruhi’s scent but it had a heavier note to it, almost calling to an instinctual part of him. Shaking his head slightly, he moved toward the heavily pregnant female on the bed; his eyes fixing on the rounded protrusion of her stomach. Something about it looked different, harder somehow and he felt a skitter of apprehension dance up his spine. Gasping, he snapped up his eyes and saw the truth written all over her face. “When,” was all he could say, the bottom dropping out of his stomach as the tips of his toes began to tingle.

“Since early this morning. They aren’t close enough to cause a fuss yet but I was about to call you anyway,” came a whispered reply that made his mouth go dry as the edges of his vision became rimmed in white.

The first time Haruhi felt alarm during this entire process was when she saw her husband go sheet white. For a few moments, she thought he was going to faint and she would have to go through this without him. A prospect she found utterly terrifying. Reaching up, she cupping his face; gasping at how cold his skin was. “Kyo, it’ll be okay. Millions of women do this every day,” she whispered in what she hoped was a comforting manner. Instead, her quiet words seemed to have the opposite effect. Life flared back into his eyes as he went stiff, rage flaring briefly in his suddenly violet orbs.

Then he was grasping her hand in his own, his gaze intense as his nostrils flared. “Those women are not you. If... if anything happens to you... I will truly be lost. I could never find anyone else that I trust, love as deeply as I do you,” he whispered, his voice oddly soft given his severe expression. Then something hot and wet hit her nose, giving the laboring female the shocking revelation her husband was crying.

Focusing on his face, she saw tears streaking down his cheeks as his jaw tensed. “She should be fine little bro. She’s had the finest prenatal care and nothing on the scan implies she’ll have complications,” came a slightly bored voice from the entry to the room, drawing their attentions to brunette that lounged on the door frame. Smiling at Akito, Haruhi looked back at Kyo before giving his cheek an affectionate peck. Then she was closing her eyes, taking a deep breath as the newest pain crested through her body.

Moans echoed through the room as Haruhi leaned back into the solid body behind her. Gone was his earlier fear, replaced with a need to protect her. To help get her through this ordeal safely. Wiping sweaty bangs from her head, he looked down her shaking body and between her shuddering thighs to meet the eyes of his sister. “She’s almost ready to push. On her next contraction,” called up her voice as a tiny hand sought one of his. Moving both his hands to his wife’s, he whispered encouragement in her ear as she took in a slow, deep breath.

All too soon she was tensing, gritting her teeth as her grip threatened to crush his bones. Ignoring the pain, he counted down the seconds as his sister had taught him. Dimly he could hear someone say she was crowning before the grip on his hands became a vice and Haruhi’s scream was all he could hear. Kissing her racing pulse, he whispered soft apologies. Then she was leaning back whimpering as she panted softly. “The head is out Haru! Just one or two more good pushes!” Fuyumi encouraged, her voice nothing more than background noise as he focused on his beloved.

Then she was pushing again, pathetic noises issuing from her lips as she bore down. Her entire face turned red, hands crushing his to powder as she pushed, pushed and then something seemed to give as she seemed to sag in relief. “That’s the shoulders. Just a bit more honey. I know you’re tired,” whispered a voice that sounded hauntingly like his mother just as his wife gave a mournful cry. It was a vocalization that cut to his soul and it was all he could do not to cry with her.

Suddenly it was all over, the exhausted woman collapsing into him as something bloody was pulled from between her legs. It was soon wrapped in blankets and vigorously rubbed, ragged cries coming from the newborn. “Its a little girl!” his sister announced, drawing him a bit back to reality as his hands began to throb. Wordlessly, Haruhi reached for the babe; leaving him to assess the damage in his appendages.

All she wanted to do was sleep, her womanhood burning more than she cared to feel at the moment. On top of that, she was still experiencing cramps; her body slowly working out the afterbirth. Yet, for some reason, the desire to hold her child topped all of those; something restless inside her calming as soon as the bundle was placed in her arms. Looking down at the pink, slightly squashed face, Haruhi felt both love as well as faint amusement. After all the declarations of how cute babies were, she never thought she’d see one so ugly. “Heh, got a face only a mom can love that’s for sure,” she whispered, her voice hoarse from all the screaming.

“She’s gorgeous,” came a response from behind her, reminded her of just whose hands she had been crushing.

Smiling over her shoulder at her husband apologetically, she was surprised with a passionate kiss that made her heart race. “Akito has gone to tell the others you are alright and that they can see you tomorrow,” he whispered as he broke the kiss to give their daughter a look full of wonder and adoration.

“Good, I want some time alone with you and little Kotoko,” she sighed, nestling into her husband as she watched her new daughter sleep.

“After your mother huh? I approve,” Kyo rumbled, his arms wrapping protectively around his new family.

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